The Daily Mail reports on the letter from the House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs, which has an inbuilt Labour government majority, and is chaired by the former Labour Minister Keith Vaz:
By James Slack and Michael Seamark
Last updated at 1:13 AM on 13th November 2009Alan Johnson was last night told by a powerful group of MPs that he can and must halt the extradition of Gary McKinnon.
In a devastating letter, the Home Affairs Select Committee flatly rejected Mr Johnson's claim that he is powerless to intervene.
[...]
The letter from Mr Vaz - a former minister - to the Home Secretary says: 'We received a clear legal opinion... that the scope for the exercise of discretion by the Home Secretary is greater than you believe.
'Because of Mr McKinnon's precarious state of mental health, the Committee is of the view that he should not be extradited to the U.S.A. and you should exercise your discretion in this case.'
[...]
Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'The Home Affairs Select Committee is telling Alan Johnson what he has already been told and what he should have known.
'It is not in the interests of justice to send a British citizen with mental health problems to face decades in an American jail.
'The Home Secretary must put an end to this shameful episode and then renegotiate the extradition treaty so this fiasco is not repeated.'
The evidence the Mail obtained from human rights QC Tim Owen and Julian Knowles, a leading extradition lawyer, categorically stated: 'The Extradition Act 2003 gives the English courts the primary responsibility - but, importantly, not the exclusive responsibility - for ensuring that... safeguards are maintained. This is because both the courts and the Home Secretary have a role to play in extradition.
'It is therefore plain that the Home Secretary has the power - and indeed the duty - to intervene in any extradition case even after the court process has ended if the evidence establishes that there is a real risk of a human rights breach should extradition proceed.
'Statements made to the contrary by the Government are obviously and plainly wrong.'
Lord Carlile, Mr Johnson's adviser on terror laws, has also said he is satisfied that the minister does have the power.
He said placing Gary at the mercy of the U.S. courts would be 'disproportionate, unnecessary and unconscionable'.
Why is it so hard for this Labour government to admit that they are wrong ?
Last night, a Home Office spokesman said: 'The Home Secretary has maintained throughout the proceedings that he has no general discretion to refuse extradition. At this stage in the case the sole issue is whether extradition would, or would not, breach Mr McKinnon's human rights.
'Unless the evidence shows that extradition would breach the European Convention on Human Rights it would be unlawful to refuse extradition.'
I have followed Gary's story for more years than I care to remember and I cannot imagine how much he has already suffered as a result of this. From the outset, this was a clear case of embarrassed Americans throwing their weight around in order to find a scapegoat. It is also clear that they deliberately chose a British citizen (rather than the multitude of non-British hackers with more malicious intent) due to the fact that the British government does what it's told. It is said that the Americans are our best friends but friendship is based on equality not subservience. Come on Westminster, pluck up some courage and do the right thing. The British people would love you if for once you stood up for us!
"A Paradigm Shift into New Fertile Ground ……" ... Posted Friday 13th November 2009 06:19 GMT .... would share its support for Gary's non extradition ..... http://amanfrommars.baywords.com/2009/11/13/091113/
Uncle Sam has much more important and pressing things on its plate to deal with, methinks.
Alan Johnson - Let me get this straight::
Alan Johnson has been placed into office to represent the people, but he claims that he does not have those powers?
Who hired this guy? What is his background? Whay do we have politicians?
Duh???
What? Did he actually say that?
"But Mr Johnson defended the extradition treaty with the US, saying critics treated America like an "enemy state"."
http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Powerful-group-of-MPs-damns.5821467.jp
Is this a point of law in Mr.Johnson's head?
Please, please, please Alan - share with us all your supporting evidence/legislation/statute/precidence/facts that you used to conclude this and make this statement.
It's Friday the 13th and I need a good laugh::
Extradite him as soon as possible Mr. Johnson and do something right for a change.
Ignore the liberal do-gooders and make an example of this geek who clearly knew what he was doing in hacking in to NASA files.
Those who want him tried in Britain know that the vile, disgraced and discredited judiciary of this country would, as usual let him off with a 'don't do it again sentence' whereas if he was tried in the USA, he would face some real justice, which is exactly why the liberal do-gooders don't want McKinnon to be extradited.
Come on Mr. Johnson, do it.
@ UCME - you seem to have contempt for United Kingdom sovereignty and justice.
Your view is that of a tiny minority. There are plenty of people who are not "liberal do-gooders" e.g. Daily Mail newspaper editors and readers, who support this British citizen's right to a fair trial here in the UK.
UCME and Johnson should be send to God's Gitmo: hell.
Why are you so full of hate and bile against a fellow human being? Why - I ask myself - would anyone enjoy seeing someone with mental problems be forced to endure an American prison away from friends and family?
Is there not enough hate in the world to satisfy you? Why do you need more? Look to yourself and your own conscience.
%F.Uckme
The sentence,
'Extradite him as soon as possible Mr. Johnson and do something right for a change.', implies that you feel that the battery of legal professionals and the United Nations Convewntion on Human Rights do not properly guide civilization? That we should on the basis of one man's opinion deny an innocent man (until proven guilty) justice on meer suspicion vacant of any substanciated evidence to an unreasonable sentence and torture by the hands of a fear driven and severly prejudice foreign nation?
The sentence
'Ignore the liberal do-gooders and make an example of this geek who clearly knew what he was doing in hacking in to NASA files.' implies you would like Mr.Johnson to ignore due process of law and deny human rights. That a 'geek' is not a person - but similar to a 'jew' and HAS no rights?
The statement
'Those who want him tried in Britain know that the vile, disgraced and discredited judiciary of this country would, as usual let him off with a 'don't do it again sentence' whereas if he was tried in the USA, he would face some real justice, which is exactly why the liberal do-gooders don't want McKinnon to be extradited.'
implies the only real justice is american justice and that this country does not believe in torture as a means of justice.
Mr. Johnson, do not do it...
People can appear to be full of hate towards a human being because they crave attention and instant gratification whether it is positive or negative. Just ignore the trolls they aint worth shit.
Gary deserves a fair unbiased trial in the UK.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cs_20091114_3145.php
-----
At the request of his national intelligence director, Bush ordered an NSA cyberattack on the cellular phones and computers that insurgents in Iraq were using to plan roadside bombings. The devices allowed the fighters to coordinate their strikes and, later, post videos of the attacks on the Internet to recruit followers. According to a former senior administration official who was present at an Oval Office meeting when the president authorized the attack, the operation helped U.S. forces to commandeer the Iraqi fighters'
communications system. With this capability, the Americans could deceive their adversaries with false information, including messages to lead unwitting insurgents into the fire of waiting U.S. soldiers.
-----
OK - let me get this straight - the american personel can access other networks to create damages and this is not illegal or terrorist activity - but anyone else who obtains access even if there was no malice intended is a terrorist -
Elle
@ Elle - not at all- any such offensive use of a military "cyberwar" team would contravene many computer misuse and terrorism laws throughout the world, especially if there is "collateral damage" to civilian systems.
However, proving that any particular country is directly behind such an attack is almost impossible e.g. most of the DDoS botnets aimed at the Estonian government a couple of years ago might very well have been controlled from within Russia, but they actually involved lots of systems physically in the USA.
Remember that even the US authorities admit that Gary McKinnon was not acting in concert with anybody else, and he is definitely not a terrorist or organised criminal.
Gary's looking good. What type of music is he into? Right now, I'm into grunge - Nirvana, Hole, Courtney Love, Jack Off Jill, Babes in Toyland, Stever, Narcotica. Has Gary written a book yet? Is there any restraining order preventing him from doing so? Why can't Jan put up a MySpace account on behalf of Gary. It might help. Gary's a lucky man in many ways. He has a girl-friend for one thing. I just broke with my hand. Bummer.
We stand behind you Gary!We are many!The truth will eventually come out.I so, would like to see the founding fathers faces,spinning in their graves:"-What a fuck happend to our project,how could it go THIS wrong".I am shure there is a lot of good in the american people.It is just that the rest of the world doesn´t want to be dominated by you,as once,you were dominated by the brittish empire.TIME FOR DISCLOSURE NOW!.It belongs to all mankind.Voice of sweden.
This is what is hard to understand for me - the complete lack of continuity, consistency and application in the law. The 'individual' is commiting a crime if say - they hack into the stock market and crash it. But when a 'country' uses hacking to crash the oil stock of another country it is not a crime. IS there any lawyers in the house that can explain this to me?
We all are rooting for you Gary. So keep your chin up - you have lots of friends in high places who would do anything for you and your case. It is an extremely dangerous precident if set and there is people like me who have a pr0blem with being seen as terrorists just because we know too much.
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/CYBER052109.xml
"Several future attack devices are being built in a U.S. cyberwarfare attack laboratory. The one shown to Aviation Week & Space Technology is a software framework for locating digital weaknesses. It combines cybersleuthing, technology analysis and tracking of information flow. It then offers suggestions to the operator on how best to mount an attack and, finally, reports on success of the effort.
Right now, electronic and cyberattacks are conducted and understood by a very few. To make the capability part of the warfighter's arsenal it has to be configured and packaged so that a non-expert could use it on the battlefield.
The heart of this attack device is its ability to tap into satellite communications, voice over Internet, proprietary Scada networks--virtually any wireless network. Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) is of particular interest since it is used to automatically control processes at high-value targets for terrorists such as nuclear facilities, power grids, waterworks, chemical plants and pipelines. The cyberattack device would test these supposedly inviolate networks for vulnerabilities to wireless penetration."
Like many people on here, i've followed this trial since day one. It saddens me that the media's story is based on a crazed, pot smoking geek who hacked into NASA, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
I would like to see the media talk more about what he found.. But then again, we know who controls the media and such talk will be put under the carpet as usual.
Gary should be given a fair trial based on the UK, with all facts put on the table. Including his mediacal background.
Good luck Gary
McAfee Outlines Growing Cyber Warfare Threat
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3848836
"McAfee officials said one of the biggest challenges for businesses is disclosure. Many of the malicious cyber attacks and their perpetrators are classified by the government, making it difficult if not impossible for companies to safeguard their own networks and data from similar attacks."
As a hacker...I would like to say that in my extensive experience...most hacks launched by an individual are in protest to some human rights abuse or such...but all hacks commited by a country are related to profit...
Elle[3113]
Yet again the British government bows down to thw whims of the Americans
Is the Iraq experience not enough
I thought we were a sovereign state
Maybe we should apply to adopt the dollar and join the United States
We have a government with no integrity
British citizens do not have rights whenever the US barks
You were the weakest link!....goodbye,finally the british tax payer can breathe a sigh of relief!,moral of the story,dont break the law!,anyones law...or yes,youve guessed it,face the consequences...your a cyber pest.
Good luck over their Gary, I was hoping that Obama might have had the sense to give you a pardon to show he had some decency when it came to the crunch...now I guess it comes down to the usual. America shouts jump and our mps answer How High?? Total bummer sometimes my faith in humanity can go to depths I never thought it could.
Nemesis - the law is an ass, and so are you.
Absolutely no-one in the UK agrees with this, or any other aspect of our 'special relationship'. This is one of the reasons we look at the US as an enemy state; they bully us and our government lets them! Who is defending us?
I can't believe this decision - it's a complete disgrace.
This government appear to have such a lack of compassion and perspective toward Gary's circumstance that I cannot conceive that they are actually human. Alan Johnson must either have a heart of stone, or is just the most cowardly, obsequious individual ever to have gained prominence in British politics. This is nothing short of an act of treachery, an abuse of power by a British politician against a British citizen who has committed a forgivable error of judgement. I am filled tonight with the greatest sense of righteous indignation, a sense that all is not well in politics, and the deepest disrespect for Alan Johnson. Shame on him.
I hsve a son with Aspergers syndrome ,so this story is very close to my heart . What is the world coming to, that people can even think about sending this man to a trial, of any sort?
This is a man that is very intelligent, that doesnt see the world like we do with its silly rules and laws. He should have been congratulated in finding a flaw in security and employed for his expertise not because he did somthing "illegal"
This is the 21st centuary not the dark ages, Just because you cant see his disability doesnt mean its not there ! I feel for him and his mother she is right they can and often do become suicidal! Please lets have some Humanity on this before i loose my faith completely
@ nemisis - "anyone's law" ?
You have personally just broken the law of say, North Korea or Cuba, simply by posting a comment here on the internet without those dictatorial governments' approval - are you willing to be extradited to those countries to face the consequences ?
The "legal forum" for alleged transnational border crimes via the internet should be the country in which the person was physically present during the alleged activities and where there are laws to cover the alleged offences. i.e. in this case, here in the United Kingdom under the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990.
it's about time Gary stopped playing the system and faced up to what he's done.
you can't have it both ways i.e stand trial here but not in the US!
if you did something wrong then you deserve whats coming to you! stop playing the system, just because you don't like the thought of a tough punishment!!
For all you do gooders that haven't a clue on how this country is so unbelievable soft on criminals, it makes a change to see that Mr Johnson has seen through the pathetic attempt to use gary's "mental illness" as an excuse to avoid prosecution.
Well done Mr Johnson. Man-up gary and take whats coming to you.
As a person who is going through a diagnosis for Aspergers, I find this news very worrying indeed.
People like us need protecting and supporting.
I know I do now, with whats going on with me, a much smaller matter and not far from Gary's and guess what, yes Im being treated like shit by the law.
It shows how unequal our relationship is with the USA
@ liz - do try to read the Extradition Act 2003 before you witter on about "have it both ways"
There is no question of Gary attempting to avoid prosecution here in the United kingdom, where he was when the alleged offences were committed, and where he was physically arrested, and where half the evidence such as ISP logfiles etc. are.
Gary has not been yet been tried or convicted of any crime, so he is still innocent until proven guilty.
You are in a minority if you think that Alan Johnson's handling of this case somehow makes him look "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime"
Good on you, Mr. Johnson. No more trying to hide behind his condition to avoid what amounts to espionage against an allied country. Let him be tried for his accused crimes.
Somehow I don't see the French treating their citizens like this. It makes my blood boil. Maybe the EU can play a part here and show us why it's good to be a member - might they save Gary from our pathetic government? And is Alan Johnson really saying that he is hamstrung by a law that his government put in place? The lunatic has indeed taken over the assylum.
@ jw - You are simply wrong. Even the US prosecutors were at pains to point out, back in 2002 when Gary was indicted by the US grand juries, that no espionage , no organised crime, no terrorism, and no breach of national security was involved in this case.
Gary was only recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, but the legal appeals and the delays against extradition did not consider this for the first 6 years of this long running case.
"Let him be tried for his accused crimes."
That is exactly what his supporters are calling for - a fair trial here in the United Kingdom, under the UK Computer Misuse Act 1990.
Good Luck Gary. I do hope the U.K. Government sees sense. The U.S must be very embaressed that a young man has hacked into their precious system, that was supposed to be 100% un-hackable.
xxxxxxx
"Let him be tried for his accused crimes." whats the point of that?(though its his right) by his own admission,hes already admitted his guilt!!!
do not pass go.....
only one loser here,the british taxpayer who has been footing the legal aid bill.
hee no one with a warm heart is like you.
real people cannot believe that any would fuck you cold understone life form, for you go on your own site no one to talk to haha you are so wrong not even satan has a place in his heart for you
enough about you and "people as you"
THIS ONE IS FOR GARY i'm so sorry
i can only believe this because the people who talk about giving you to the usa are killers humanflesh eaters and themselves terrorists
think of your mother and of all who wish you to be free in a free world
MR.BARAK OBAMA YOU MUST STOP THIS get out of the bush era you know what is BAD
So stupid this all is. What is the difference if he is extradited and faces trial in UK or US. He did something very wrong, he needs to be punished. He is not facing the death penalty. I do not buy his Aspberger's will make him commit suicide, I have family with the same disorder. He just does not want to go to US and him and his mother are stomping their feet and whining.
Give it up. You do the crime, you do the time. How much US and UK money is going to be spent to try to get this kid out of the trouble he caused himself?
This man is Home Secretary and he feels he doesn't have the power to stop a British citizen being extradited in a case which will help no-one and harm many. He should clearly resign. He is not the person I want in the office of Home Secretary.
Shouldn't have hacked into their computers I wouldn't know first steps to do it so he's not stupid but I don't think he should go America won't be a very good sentence there should be tried in uk in the real world
Mr. Johnson is pathetic - and he has been mentioned as a future party leader - god help this country.
It's about time that the UK government started to stand up for this country and stopped their cowardly acquiescence to the USA (and Europe)- Iraq war and Lisbon Treaty to quote recent examples.
Gary McKinnon actually did the USA a favour by exposing the vunerability of their computer systems - if he can hack them then so could Al Qaeda. He should receive a reward, not prosecution, and perhaps they should offer him a job to advise on computer security.
my thoughts and prayers are with you gary...mr johnson=twat!
Rather than seek his extradition, the Americans should give Gary a pat on the back for exposing the lack of security.