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The European Court has halted McKinnon's extradition until 28 August while it reviews his case, but the investigator who started the case says the hacker "is grasping at straws with the appeal."

"At this point and time, there's no indication the European court will give any credibility to his argument," Scott Christie, former assistant US attorney in New Jersey <

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told ComputerWorld. "It would be premature for him to believe that he has found a sympathetic shoulder to cry on."

Christie also denied McKinnon's claims that extradition to the US would result in him being classed as a terrorist.

"Mr McKinnon has never been classified in that manner or treated in that manner, as far as I'm aware," says Christie. "He will be treated as a normal criminal defendant in the civil court system of this country. He's a run-of-the-mill criminal with a run-of-the-mill crime."

The US government accuses McKinnon of hacking into military and NASA systems 97 times over a period of five months and deleting sensitive files. McKinnon claims he caused no harm and was simply searching for proof of alien existence. He has already lost an appeal in the House of Lords.