A last-ditch appeal to prevent a computer hacker from being extradited to the United States has been dismissed by the Home Secretary.
Gary McKinnon and his family were told yesterday that Alan Johnson is to allow the extradition to go ahead after refusing to block it on medical grounds.
Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger’s syndrome, is accused by the US authorities of breaking into military and Nasa computers. He has admitted hacking but maintains he was looking only for evidence of UFOs.
He is now almost certain to be extradited to the US to face charges after the home secretary refused to block the move.
Alan Johnson said medical grounds could not prevent the extradition.
Due to legitimate concerns over Mr McKinnon’s health, we have sought and received assurances from the United States authorities that his needs will be met,” he said.
is lawyer, Karen Todner, responded: “It’s a devastating blow but we are not going to give up. We are certainly coming to the end of the road.
“We’re just hoping at some point someone sees sense and steps in. All the legal team do know is we cannot give up because in some ways it’s like dealing with a death row case, and we genuinely believe that Gary’s life is at stake here.”
Mr McKinnon, a UFO enthusiast, is accused of the most severe computer hack of all time, after he penetrated the Pentagon’s military computers remotely to look for evidence of alien encounters.
He also left messages criticising US foreign policy. The 43-year-old, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, faces up to 60 years in jail if convicted in America.
Judicial review proceedings begin next week, with just seven days to prepare, rather than the usual three months. Mr McKinnon’s legal team could still take the case to the European court of human rights.
MPs on the home affairs select committee recently told Mr Johnson he has considerably more discretion in the matter than he has previously suggested, but the comment do not appear to have changed the home secretary’s mind.
Mr McKinnon’s mother, Janis Sharp, told the BBC her son was terrified of the extradition.
“It’s a disgusting decision. Gary has been in a heightened state of terror for almost eight years,” she said.
“To force a peaceful, vulnerable, misguided UFO fanatic like Gary thousands of miles away from his much-needed support network is barbaric.”
Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne lambasted the home secretary for his decision.
“It is appalling that this government places a higher value on a deeply unfair extradition agreement than it does on the welfare of a British citizen,” he said.
“Alan Johnson has shamefully turned down the opportunity to demonstrate his faith in British justice and save a vulnerable man from a lifetime in prison or worse.
“The home secretary should stop being an American poodle and start being a British bulldog.”
Here at Tweet4Gary we consider this to be a shameful state of affairs, particularly after the previous Home Secretary Jaquie Smith refused to help and later had to publicly admit that she was unsuited to the job due to her lack of experience, and even David Blunkett has said that Gary McKinnon should not be extradited. and he signed the original 2003 Extradition Treaty.
Which makes us wonder whether this government can be allowed to make any desisions on behalf of British Citizens. We therefore call on Alan Johnson to resign immediately.
Will Gary McKinnon supporters please contact their MP.
The Chief Whip of the Labour Party @KerryMP is on Twitter please make your thoughts known to her.
Its our belief that Alan Johnsons attempt to rush this through, is his weak political attempt to prevent The Conservative Party from reversing his decision if they win the election. The Labour Party now have to realise that this is very much an election issue, and getting rid of Gary McKinnon will not change this in any way. The Free Gary Campaign will continue for however long it takes. Whatever happens, The Extradition Treaty must be changed. As I heard at The Conservative Party Conference “This must never ever happen again to another British Citizen. ”