Judge: Extradite 'super-hacker' to US

A SCOTS-born computer hacker who has been accused of the "biggest military hack" ever detected should be extradited to the United States to face trial, where he could face up to 70 years in jail, a judge has ruled.

Gary McKinnon, 40, who said he had hacked into NASA and US military systems to check for material on UFOs, has six weeks to submit evidence to John Reid, the Home Secretary, who will make the final decision.

McKinnon was arrested last June following charges by US prosecutors that he illegally accessed 97 government computers, including Pentagon, US army, navy and NASA systems, causing £375,000 damage. He admitted hacking into the systems, but denied causing any damage.

Appealing to Mr Reid not to extradite him, McKinnon said: "Do right by your subjects."

McKinnon, who was born in Milton of Campsie, near Glasgow, before moving to London as a boy, fears he will be sent to Guantanamo Bay.

A Home Office spokeswoman said

the government always sought assurances that torture or the death penalty would not be applied before agreeing to extradition.

Prosecutors accused McKinnon of crippling US defence systems in the wake of the 11 September, 2001, attacks.

At the time of the indictment, Paul McNulty, the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, said: "Mr McKinnon is charged with the biggest military computer hack of all time."

District Judge Nicholas Evans, sitting at Bow Street Magistrates' Court, yesterday ordered McKinnon's extradition, saying he had targeted US computers.

"It is not my task to determine which state has the better right to prosecute but, for what it is worth, my view is, unquestionably, if the defendant is to face prosecution, it should be in the US," he added.

However, McKinnon's supporters say he has done the US a favour by exposing the systems' vulnerabilities.

Karen Todner, McKinnon's solicitor, said she would appeal against deportation. She argues that her client will not receive a fair trial in the US and could easily be tried in Britain.

Colin Fox, a Socialist MSP and member of the justice 2 committee, said the verdict was timely, coming just days after the Scottish Parliament expressed its alarm at extradition treaties with the US.

He said: "This treaty was signed by David Blunkett, then home secretary, in 2003 on the basis that it would help in the 'war on terror'. What role has Gary McKinnon, a computer hacker, played in this war?"

MSPs are also concerned that, under the 2003 Extradition Act, the US simply has to make a statement and does not need to submit evidence to justify an extradition request.