Leicester MP Vaz fights hacker's extradition to USA

MP Keith Vaz is fighting to save British hacker Gary McKinnon from being sent to the USA for trial.

The member for Leicester East yesterday met Josephine and Brian Clarke, whose daughter, Lucy, is Mr McKinnon's girlfriend.

Mr Vaz told the couple, from Evington, Leicester, that he believed the High Court was wrong to agree to deport 43-year-old Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome – a form of autism.

McKinnon has admitted that eight years ago he hacked into the systems of the US Military and Nasa looking for evidence of space aliens, and left rude messages on their systems about their lack of security.

On July 31 this year, the British High Court ruled that Mr McKinnon should be extradited to the USA under anti-terrorism laws.

But Mr McKinnon wants to stand trial in the UK instead.

Mr Vaz chairs the Government's Home Affairs Committee which has been hearing evidence about the case.

He believes it is wrong to treat Mr McKinnon as a terrorist and said that his "precarious state of mental health" meant it would violate his human rights to extradite him.

His committee has sent a letter to Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, asking him to overrule the High Court extradition order.

Brian Clarke, 70, said: "We've known Gary for four years and he's a very nice chap with no criminal record.

"He got a bit obsessed with looking for little green men and got himself in trouble.

"But people with Asperger's do get a bit too focused on things like that.

"What has happened seems so wrong. He was just using a normal home computer. So if he's so clever, he should probably be working for the Government."

Mr McKinnon is not currently in custody but he is afraid to leave his home, Mr Clarke said.

Lucy Clarke, 38, was raised in Leicester and went to Beauchamp College in Oadby. She works in London for a housing organisation helping teachers to find homes.

Mr Clarke said: "She's absolutely mortified about the whole thing.

"We're all just hoping the Home Secretary will help. If he's extradited we can't imagine we'll ever see him again."

Mr Vaz said: "The laws being used to extradite Gary were quickly passed after the attacks of September 11, 2001, without much scrutiny.

"They were designed to deal with terrorists.

"They are not for people like Gary McKinnon.

"What he did was not serious. I think he has done the Americans a huge favour by showing how easy it is to hack in to their systems.

"They should be thanking him."

A Home Office spokesman said Mr Johnson was looking closely at whether there was a conflict with Mr McKinnon's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and would make a decision shortly.