The law is one of several new regulations put forward by the Interior Minister, Mercedes Cabanillas.

BBC: Peru to ban gay police officers

Ms Cabanillas is trying to shake up the institution, which has a dismal reputation among the general public.

BBC: Peru to ban gay police officers

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Cabanillas said that Loughner "could revert to being a danger to himself" if the medication were halted.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Mr Cabanillas's appointment suggests Mr Aznar is particularly keen to get the Socialists' old friends in the media to come round to him.

ECONOMIST: Spain

Ms Cabanillas' strong-arm tactics have earned her some public backing and the nickname "Thatcher" in the Peruvian media, after the former Conservative British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

BBC: Peru to ban gay police officers

"This extradition is particularly noteworthy because this is the first extradition of this sort Spain has requested from Britain, " the spokesman, Pio Cabanillas, was quoted by Reuters as telling a news conference.

CNN: UK asked to extradite ETA suspect

His new spokesman, Pio Cabanillas, previously ran state television, but he was once also high up in Prisa, the powerful media group long close to the Socialists, and especially to their former leader, Felipe Gonzalez.

ECONOMIST: Spain