Calls On EU To Intervene In McKinnon Row

The computer hacker, who has Asperger's Syndrome and who is currently on suicide watch, has been informed that he will be extradited to the USA on charges of breaching US military and Nasa computers.

Mr Smith has written to the EU Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, asking her to intervene on Mr McKinnon's behalf.

Smith said:

"The London government has progressively eroded civil liberties in the UK, has been complicit in extraordinary rendition and has taken us into an illegal war for oil in Iraq.

"This case is the latest in a long line of examples of the UK government kowtowing to the US over the rights of our citizens, and in this case purely to spare the red faces of the US military and Nasa, and all thanks to a legally lopsided extradition treaty which should never have been passed in the first place.

"While it is clear that the US military and Nasa have been left red-faced by Gary McKinnon's actions, to put this man's life at risk merely to pander to their embarrassment shows no compassion from the US authorities, and similarly none from the UK government who have been so willing to bow down to these demands from Washington.

"I have no faith in the US judicial system and am extremely concerned that the Home Secretary can be so relaxed about handing over a very vulnerable individual for a crime that was, after all, committed on UK soil.

"I have today written to the EU Commissioner for Justice to request that she urgently acts to prevent Gary's extradition."