Prime Minister Gordon Brown needs to intervene to ensure
Gary McKinnon is not jailed in the US, says David Burrowes, MP
for Enfield Southgate.
McKinnon faces
imminent extradition to the US to face trial for allegedly
hacking more than 73,000 US military computers.
Burrowes is leading a
campaign by several politicians to halt McKinnon's extradition
unless the US allows him to serve any sentence in Britain.
David Blunkett, former home secretary, is among supporters who
have called for McKinnon to be repatriated immediately because the
hacker has Asperger's syndrome.
This week Burrowes asked during Prime Ministers' questions if
the PM will ensure UK citizens such as McKinnon are not routinely
extradited.
Brown responded by saying the UK and the US are signatories to
the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced
persons, which enables a person found guilty in the US to serve
their sentence in the UK.
Burrowes said, "I am pleased that the possibility of
repatriation has been acknowledged by the Prime Minister and I will
continue to press for this to become a reality."
McKinnon expects a decision early in December on a request for
judicial review of the case by the High Court.
His lawyers filed the request in October after the
Home Office rejected an appeal for the extradition to be set
aside on health grounds.
McKinnon has admitted that he gained illegal entry to US
military computers between 1999 and 2003, but he has denied the
alleged extent of his incursions or that he caused damage.