CORFE Castle businessman Michael Turner, who spent four months in a tough Hungarian prison without charge, has welcomed a parliamentary report calling for reform of the controversial European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

Mr Turner was extradited to the eastern European nation with co-accused Jason McGoldrick, in November 2009, in connection with the collapse of their Budapest-based marketing company five years previously.

The pair – dubbed the Budapest Two – have always maintained their innocence, despite Hungarian authorities insisting they committed fraud.

Neither man has ever faced charges in connection with the case, which is ongoing.

Mr Turner, who gave evidence at Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, welcomed the findings of its report, released yesterday. The report calls for a “number of serious problems” with the EAW to be corrected.

According to the committee, measures need to be taken to ensure the use of warrants is proportionate to the alleged crime and that other EU member states do not use them to investigate a crime instead of getting someone to stand trial.

Judges should also be able to refuse a request on human rights grounds, particularly if the alleged crime is not a UK offence, or if the use of an extradition order would be disproportionate, the commission concludes.

Mr Turner told the Daily Echo yesterday: “I think the findings are fantastic and they are well-needed.

“The report calls for evidence to be shown that proves you will be going to a country to stand trial, not to be investigated, as happened to me.

“I told my story to the committee, which I hope helped. This report comes too late for me. I’ve already been extradited. But hopefully it will help someone else.”

Mr Turner faces possible extradition again. The Hungarian prosecutor has 60 days to bring forward a prosecution.

South Dorset MP Richard Drax said: “This poor young man’s life is on hold until he is cleared.

“Obviously, it is iniquitous to arrest someone on the EAW simply in order to question them – and to imprison them is even worse.

“I am told that for every EAW we issue in this country, we are bombarded with 20 from the rest of the EU.”

The Joint Committee on Human Rights has also called for the government to renegotiate the UK’s extradition treaty with the United States.