Self-confessed hacker
Gary McKinnon will stay in the UK for the next month while the
director of public prosecutions (DPP) considers whether to try him
here.
This morning the High Court postponed until Friday judgement on
its judicial review of the government's decision to permit
McKinnon's extradition to the US on
hacking charges.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has meanwhile undertaken not to
extradite McKinnon before the DPP decides whether or not to
prosecute him in the UK.
McKinnon's lawyers, Kaim Todner, applied last year to the High
Court to delay its judicial review to give the DPP, Keir Starmer, a
chance to review McKinnon's case. In a
statement to the DPP, McKinnon said he admitted hacking
Pentagon and Nasa computers.
If convicted in the US, McKinnon faces up to 60 years, 10 years
of each count, in a high security prison. A conviction under the
UK's Computer Misuse Act carries a maximum penalty of five
years.
McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, an autistic
condition, admitted to National High Tech Crime unit detectives
that he hacked US government computers. He said he was searching
for secret information about unidentified flying objects and alien
energy technology.
The US alleges that McKinnon hacked Nasa and military computers
in 2001 and 2002 and caused damage worth nearly $1m. McKinnon
admitted hacking, but denied causing damage.
However, it took the US 39 months from McKinnon's admission to
ask for his extradition. In that time, the rules governing
extraditions between the UK and US changed.
Karen Todner, McKinnon's lawyer, said the change meant that
while UK officials needed to show "probable cause" - ie, show
evidence that the suspect was likely to have committed the alleged
crime - there was no similar requirement on US officials.
The change in the extradition rules was brought in urgently to
help fight terrorism. Since then it has been used mainly to
prosecute civil and commercial suits against UK citizens. These
include the
Natwest
Three and
Nigel Potter, the boss of an online gambling firm.