'Hacker' loses extradition battle

Gary McKinnon, of Wood Green, north London, is alleged to have caused £370,000 worth of damage hacking into US defence computer systems over the course of a year.

District Judge Nicholas Evans said McKinnon should be recommended for extradition. The matter is expected to be passed to John Reid, the Home Secretary, to make the final decision.

The district judge reserved the decision following a hearing that was told McKinnon gained access to the US military's classified information network. Allegedly, McKinnon deleted system files and logs from computers at the naval weapon station Earle following the September 11 attacks, rendering the base’s entire network of over three hundred computers inoperable.
Lawyers said the decision was consistent with Britain's extradition agreement with the US.

An IT solicitor at Pinsent Masons, Struan Robertson, said. "The decision makes sense according to our extradition treaty with the US, which allows someone to be extradited for any crime which is punishable in both jurisdictions by a prison sentence of more than one year."

"The only way out of it is if he faces the death penalty or if he can prove extradition is politically motivated. The treaty makes an exception for capital punishment, but facing a harsh sentence is not in itself grounds to block extradition."
Outside court, McInnon his solicitor vowed to fight on but claimed that if he was tried in Virginia he was "already hung and quartered over there".

McInnon told reporters they would now make representations to the Home Secretary and would challenge his decision on appeal were he to grant the extradition.

The District Judge said: "For over 150 years we have had extradition arrangements with the US. It is inconceivable, given the unequivocal assurances, and all that history and extradition experience, that the Government would risk damaging, perhaps irretrievably damaging, extradition arrangements by not honoring the assurances."

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