Daniel Machover: Giving suspects from 'protected countries' immunity from war crimes arrests would turn the UK into a safe haven for suspects

Jack Straw's timing could have had more sensitivity to Chilean politics. He might have waited to announce his decision to let General Pinochet go home until after the weekend elections. By raising a dormant issue now, he risks reintroducing the general into a domestic political argument that had mostly forgotten him. But the medical plight of this rotting old tyrant has extracted from Mr Straw a judgment that, while undoubtedly convenient for the British government, is also correct.