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Gary McKinnon extradition: Theresa May to rule on hacker Gary McKinnon extradition to US blocked by Theresa May
(26 days later)
Home Secretary Theresa May is due to announce whether computer hacker Gary McKinnon will be extradited to the US.  
Mr McKinnon, who admits accessing US government computers but claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs, has been fighting extradition since 2006. British computer hacker Gary McKinnon will not be extradited to the US, Home Secretary Theresa May has announced.
The 46-year-old, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, could face 60 years in jail if convicted in the US. Mr McKinnon, 46, who admits accessing US government computers but claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs, has been fighting extradition since 2002.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Mrs May will also announce changes to Britain's extradition arrangements with the US. The home secretary told MPs there was no doubt Mr McKinnon was "seriously ill" and the extradition warrant against him should be withdrawn.
Mr McKinnon's case has been highlighted by critics who say it is too easy for the US to demand the handover of UK citizens. Mrs May said the sole issue she had to consider was his human rights.
David Cameron raised the issue with President Barack Obama during a meeting at the White House in March and said he would like to see a review. She said it was now for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, to decide whether he should face trial in the UK.
Court decision Mrs May said: "Since I came into office, the sole issue on which I have been required to make a decision is whether Mr McKinnon's extradition to the United States would breach his human rights.
The href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218265/At-ministers-end-unfairness-lopsided-law-extradition-new-rules.html" >Daily Mail reports the home secretary is planning to introduce a measure that would make it more likely UK citizens would be tried in the UK - if that is where their alleged crimes took place. "Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes. But there is also no doubt that he is seriously ill.
The newspaper says the introduction of the so-called forum bar means a court hearing would have to be held to decide where a person should stand trial. "He has Asperger's syndrome, and suffers from depressive illness. The legal question before me is now whether the extent of that illness is sufficient to preclude extradition.
It says Mrs May will make the announcement when she addresses the Commons to give her ruling on Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London. "After careful consideration of all of the relevant material, I have concluded that Mr McKinnon's extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon's human rights."
Mr McKinnon's lawyer, Karen Todner, said she had been calling for such a move for years. The home secretary's decision to block this extradition is extremely significant. She had an obligation under the Human Rights Act to take into account new evidence about Gary McKinnon's health.
She told the BBC: "It would be absolutely fantastic if she does bring that in - but she must combine it with not sending Gary." The real twist is that this may be the one and only time she blocks an extradition on human rights grounds because she has now pledged to hand that decision to judges, in line with a recommendation in the review she commissioned.
BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said this would be "seismic" for the UK's extradition arrangements with the US. The 2003 extradition deal with the US aimed to speed up extradition and remove political prevarication or interference.
He said the measure was already part of an amendment to the Extradition Act but had never been given legislative force - it would require the approval of both Houses of Parliament. And although the home secretary says the deal is broadly sound, she has accepted one of the main criticisms - that there must be a power to block extradition if someone could be tried in the UK. That will be a major change in extradition law. Critics, including many MPs, will say this reform should have come sooner.
Psychiatrist assessment
US authorities have described the Glasgow-born hacker's actions as the "biggest military computer hack of all time" and have demanded he face justice in America. Mrs May also said measures would be taken to enable a UK court to decide whether a person should stand trial in the UK or abroad - a so-called forum bar.
It would be designed to ensure extradition cases did not fall foul of "delays and satellite litigation", she said.
"I believe extradition decisions must not only be fair, they must be seen to be fair. And they must be made in open court where decisions can be challenged and explained," she said.
"That is why I have decided to introduce a forum bar. This will mean that where prosecution is possible in both the UK and in another state, the British courts will be able to bar prosecution overseas if they believe it is in the interests of justice to do so."
Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, faced 60 years in jail if convicted in the US.
Mr McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp was delighted with the decision, saying: "Thank you Theresa May from the bottom of my heart - I always knew you had the strength and courage to do the right thing."
His MP, David Burrowes, who had threatened to resign as a parliamentary aide if Mr McKinnon was extradited, welcomed the decision.
Mr Burrowes, Conservative MP for Enfield Southgate in north London, tweeted: "Compassion and pre-election promises delivered today."
BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said it was a dramatic decision - the first time a home secretary had stepped in to block an extradition under the current treaty with the US.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said: "This is a great day for rights, freedoms and justice in the United Kingdom.
"The home secretary has spared this vulnerable man the cruelty of being sent to the US and accepted Liberty's long-standing argument for change to our rotten extradition laws."
Mark Lever, chief executive of the National Autistic Society, said he was "delighted that the years of waiting are finally over for Gary and his family".
But Labour former home secretary Alan Johnson criticised the decision and claimed Mrs May had made a decision which was "in her own party's best interests but it's not in the best interests of this country".
He said: "Gary McKinnon is accused of very serious offences. The US was perfectly within its rights and it was extremely reasonable of them to seek his extradition."
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper asked Mrs May about the implications of her decision: "Clearly other people subject to extradition proceedings or immigration proceedings do cite medical conditions as a reason not to extradite so it would be useful for Parliament and the courts to understand the tests you have applied and whether that will set precedent in other cases."
American lawyer, David Rivkin, a former White House adviser, said the decision was "laughable", adding, "Under that logic, anybody who claims some kind of physical or mental problem can commit crimes with impunity and get away with it."
US extradition expert Douglas McNabb said the US Attorney's Office would be furious and he suspected it would ask Interpol to issue a red notice - making other nations aware there was an outstanding arrest warrant for Mr McKinnon in the US - which would mean he could be arrested if he left the UK.
The family of terror suspect Babar Ahmad said while they welcomed the decision not to extradite Mr McKinnon, questions had to be asked.
Mr Ahmad was one of five terror suspects, including radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, extradited to the US earlier this month. His co-accused, Talha Ahsan, who was also extradited, was diagnosed with Asperger's in June 2009, according to a European Court of Human Rights judgement.
Both are accused by US authorities of running a pro-jihad website.
Mr Ahmad's family said: "Why within the space of two weeks, a British citizen with Asperger's accused of computer-related activity is not extradited, while two other British citizens, one with Asperger's, engaged in computer-related activity are extradited. A clear demonstration of double standards."
US authorities have described Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon's actions as the "biggest military computer hack of all time" and have demanded he face justice in America.
They insisted his hacking was "intentional and calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion".They insisted his hacking was "intentional and calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion".
The Americans said his actions caused $800,000 (£487,000) worth of damage to military computer systems.The Americans said his actions caused $800,000 (£487,000) worth of damage to military computer systems.
Mr McKinnon has previously lost appeals in the High Court and the House of Lords against his extradition, but two years ago a High Court judge ruled Mr McKinnon would be at risk of suicide if sent away.Mr McKinnon has previously lost appeals in the High Court and the House of Lords against his extradition, but two years ago a High Court judge ruled Mr McKinnon would be at risk of suicide if sent away.
Earlier this year Mrs May put the decision on hold to allow Home Office appointed psychiatrists to conduct an assessment.Earlier this year Mrs May put the decision on hold to allow Home Office appointed psychiatrists to conduct an assessment.
They also concluded that Mr McKinnon would be likely to take his own life if he was sent to face trial in the US. They also concluded Mr McKinnon would be likely to take his own life if he was sent to face trial in the US.
'Zombified life' Mr McKinnon was arrested in 2002 and again in 2005 before an order for his extradition was made in July 2006 under the 2003 Extradition Act.
Our correspondent said the home secretary could only halt the extradition on human rights grounds - and he believed this latest report provided her with a basis to do that.
If Mrs May allows the extradition to go ahead, lawyers for Mr McKinnon are expected to apply for a judicial review to challenge the decision.
A lot of the criticisms of the UK's extradition treaty with the US are narrow legal arguments. One of the controversies is the question of where someone should be prosecuted - the so-called appropriate "forum".
Critics of the 2003 Act say the UK signed away the right to try its own citizens in cases that cross national boundaries.
Gary McKinnon's supporters say he should be tried in the UK, given that's where he was when he was hacking.
A similar forum issue featured in the case of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, extradited to the US two weeks ago. They will be prosecuted for running a pro-jihadist website in London that allegedly broke US laws.
Supporters of the 2003 deal say that in each case the US must prove it has jurisdiction before an extradition can happen. And in each case, the courts have agreed there is a case to answer.
A provisional hearing date has been set in the High Court for 28 and 29 November.
Mr McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, told the BBC her son had lived a "zombified life" for the past decade, which had "destroyed him".
Ms Sharp is calling for him to be tried in the UK and believes extradition powers would be used inappropriately if he was forced to travel to the US.
"This was supposed to be for terrorists this treaty - if you were in a country and you committed a heinous crime and you fled - it wasn't meant for this kind of thing."
She added that Mr McKinnon's Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism - meant he believed he would be put to death if he was extradited.
Mr McKinnon's MP, David Burrowes, said he would resign as a parliamentary aide if his constituent was extradited.
He said: "From Gary's point of view there's no plan B. It's the fact of extradition, once that decision is made then as far as he's concerned that's the end of his life.
"That's his firm conclusion, it's been verified by medical experts and that would seem compelling human rights grounds. He's going to take his life, what greater human right is he going to lose?"
Isabelle Sankey, policy director of human rights group Liberty, said Mr McKinnon was a vulnerable person who should not be extradited.
"He's got Asperger's Syndrome, he's in absolute terror about what might happen to him if he gets over to the US and medical experts have talked about the fact that he's actually at risk of suicide," she said.
"It's absolute madness in this case to take him abroad and we very much hope the home secretary shows some compassion and common sense."