PM pays his respects at Ground Zero

 
Tribute: David and Samantha Cameron leave Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC today for New York, where the PM remembered the 9/11 victims

David Cameron was today going to Ground Zero to pay his respects to the thousands who died in the 9/11 terror strikes.

The Prime Minister will relive his own fears on that day — when he struggled to contact his wife Samantha who was visiting New York as the Twin Towers were attacked.

“I’ll never forget the hours of ringing her mobile over and over again and not being able to get through because the mobile phone system was down,” he has recalled.

“I remember exactly where I was when I finally did get through and how pleased I was to hear her voice.”

Mr Cameron, on the last day of his three-day trip to America, will also meet Cory Booker, the Mayor of Newark, who has successfully targeted crime. He may learn some tactics which could be useful in combating gangs in London.

He also held talks with Barack Obama on the row over Britons being extradited to America to face trial.

More of these cases could be heard in the UK in future under proposals to be examined by the Government.

The development could cheer the family of computer hacker Gary McKinnon, fighting extradition to the US, but comes too late for Kent businessman Christopher Tappin, who was sent to Texas last month.

Home Secretary Theresa May is considering the Government’s response to last year’s Scott Baker Review, which found no imbalance between how US and UK citizens are affected by the countries’ extradition treaty.

Speaking after yesterday’s talks, Mr Cameron said he recognised concerns about how it operates.

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