Nasa and Pentagon Hacked part 2
Foreign Secretary David Miliband should use his considerable influence with Hillary Clinton to intervene in the extradition of Scottish computer hacker Gary McKinnon, a senior MP said yesterday.
Labour’s Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said the US secretary of state’s description of Mr Miliband as “vibrant and attractive” could help resolve the issue.
Last week, Mr McKinnon’s lawyers lodged papers for a fresh High Court challenge to stop him being sent for trial in the US.
Mr McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, lives in London but comes originally from Glasgow.
He hacked into Nasa and Pentagon computers seeking evidence of UFOs – and his family fears he could face up to 60 years in prison.
At Commons questions, Mr Vaz told Home Secretary Alan Johnson: “In the latest edition of Vogue magazine, Hillary Clinton describes our foreign secretary as vital, vibrant, attractive and smart.
“Given this very close relationship between Britain and the US, and given that you say you have no more legal powers to intervene, surely the best course of action is for a diplomatic resolution to this problem.
“Will you talk to the foreign secretary so he can talk to Hillary Clinton to see whether this matter can be resolved?”
Mr Johnson said the matter could be “resolved by upholding the law”.
He told MPs: “The courts have decided and the prosecuting authorities have decided that Gary McKinnon is accused of very serious charges; he should answer to those charges in the US.
“That’s not the role of any politician, it’s not the role of any judge.”
“It’s the role of the prosecuting authority.”
The US had given a “whole list of assurances” that Gary McKinnon would be treated for his condition by the US authorities, he added.
Highland Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander said the US-UK extradition treaty was “grossly unbalanced”.
The Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP told the home secretary: “You claim your hands are tied but many lawyers, including Lord Carlile, the government’s own independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, tell it differently.”
Tory spokesman Crispin Blunt said the government should consider whether cyber crimes committed in the UK should be appropriate for extradition.
Category: News
Tags: Hacker | News | Website
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