Gary McKinnon extradition blocked by UK government

Gary McKinnon will not be sent to stand trial in the USA, on grounds of human rights.

Home secretary Theresa May told parliament that McKinnon is too ill to be extradited. After examination of the medical evidence, she concluded that the threat to McKinnon's life impinges his human rights.

McKinnon has admitted hacking US government computers, saying that he was looking for evidence of UFOs.

For breaching the government machines, he faced 60 years in prison in the US if extradited.

An additional layer of complexity was added to the case by the fact that McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism.

The right decision

There was much outcry in the UK over the case, with many feeling that any crime committed in the UK should be tried and, if necessary, punished in the UK rather than simply handing British citizens over to the US courts.

The fight against the McKinnon extradition has been running for ten years; today's outcome is the first in a series of steps to reform the UK's extradition laws in the light of the global nature of the internet.

The shadow home secretary asked if these changes will have any bearing on the case of Richard O'Dwyer, another computer hacker whose extradition is going ahead. There has been no answer on that just yet.