Advertisement

  1. National

US 'disappointed' over McKinnon

The US has said they are "disappointed" after the Home Secretary Theresa May blocked their request on human rights grounds to extradite computer hacker Gary McKinnon so he can stand trial. She described it as a "difficult and exceptional case".

View all 53 updates ›

What is Gary McKinnon accused of?

  • Between February 2001 and March 2002, the Glasgow-born computer expert allegedly hacked into 97 US government computers from his London home.
  • He is accused of leaving 300 computers at US Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey unusable immediately after the September 11 terror attacks on America.
  • US prosecutors allege he deleted files which shut down the US army's military district of Washington DC network of more than 2,000 computers for 24 hours.
  • The 46-year-old, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, admits hacking into military computers but claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs.
  • He was was arrested in 2002, and then again in 2005, before an order for his extradition was made in July 2006 under the 2003 Extradition Act.

More on this story