An influential group of MPs has told the home secretary that
he should stop the extradition ofPentagon hacker Gary McKinnonon compassionate
grounds.
The Home Affairs Select Committee came to the conclusion after
hearing evidence from the hacker's mother, Janis Sharp, on Tuesday
10 November, that
McKinnon's mind was too fragile to withstand extradition to
face US prosecutors on hacking charges.
"Because of Mr McKinnon's precarious state of mental health, the
committee is of the view that he should not be extradited to the
USA and that you should exercise your discretion in this case,"
said Keith Vaz, chairman of the committee, in a letter to the home
secretary.
Under pressure to show compassion for McKinnon, home secretary
Alan Johnson told the committee on Tuesday that his only discretion
to intervene was under the Human Rights Act. He was considering
whether the Act gave him that power in respect of McKinnon's mental
health.
The home secretary had already refused to prevent McKinnon's
extradition under the same Act in respect of McKinnon's vulnerable
mental condition as someone who has Asperger's syndrome, as opposed
to his deteriorating mental health.
Vaz insisted in his letter that Johnson had broader powers to
intervene outside of the Act. This view was supported by expert
legal opinion.
The Home Office subsequently insisted the home secretary had no
general discretion to intervene. It also dismissed Vaz's call for a
"comprehensive" review of the 2003 Extradition Act in respect of
human rights.
Background to the Gary McKinnon case >>