Home Office delays McKinnon extradition

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 19 Oct 2009 at 09:48

The Government has delayed Gary McKinnon's extradition to the US in order to further evaluate the mental health of the Asperger's sufferer.

McKinnon admits hacking into NASA and Pentagon computers, but claims he wasn't looking to do any harm. Over the past several years, he's fought to stand trial in the UK rather than the US, with his Aspergers diagnosis forming the backbone of the campaign.

After being asked several times to keep McKinnon in the UK, and claiming there's nothing he can do, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has finally acquiesced, for a time at least.

On 12 October his solicitors submitted further representations to the Home Secretary and we are considering what response to give to this latest material

McKinnon had been slated for extradition at the end of this month after failing to convince the Government he should be able to appeal to the Supreme Court, but Johnson has ordered a new psychiatric report, and asked the Home Office to look into the matter.

"On 12 October his solicitors submitted further representations to the Home Secretary and we are considering what response to give to this latest material," The Home Office told the BBC.

"In the meantime, we have confirmed to his solicitors that we do not consider the 14 days for a Strasbourg application as running."

Read our feature for a complete summary of McKinnon's case