The Guardian reports:
Gary McKinnon campaigners praise PM for raising hacker's case with Obama
Cameron says he hopes 'a way through' can be found over fate of McKinnon, who faces extradition to US
* Jo Adetunji
* The Guardian, Wednesday 21 July 2010Prime minister David Cameron said last night he hoped "a way through" could be found over the fate of computer hacker Gary McKinnon, but remained diplomatic as he spoke of his discussion of the case with the US president.
The prime minister said he had talked with Barack Obama about the case of McKinnon, 43, who is accused of hacking into US government computer systems for which he faces extradition and up to 60 years in jail. Cameron said McKinnon was accused of a "very important and significant crime" but hoped that "a way through" could be found.
Cameron and Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, have publicly criticised plans to extradite McKinnon. Last year Cameron said that there was "a clear argument to be made that he should answer [any questions] in a British court".
But Cameron took a more diplomatic tack last night. Speaking at a joint press conference with Obama, he said: "Clearly there is a discussion going on between the British and the Americans about this, but I don't want to prejudice those discussions. We completely understand that Gary McKinnon stands accused of a very important and significant crime in terms of hacking into vital databases, and nobody denies that is an important crime that has to be considered. I have had conversations with the US ambassador as well as raising it with the president, and I hope a way through can be found."
[...]
Last year Alan Johnson, the former home secretary and Theresa May's predecessor, ruled that McKinnon could face extradition and trial in the US but his lawyers were granted permission for a judicial review into whether the decision breached human rights.The case took another turn when May stepped in to adjourn the review days before it was due to start to consider whether McKinnon is fit to stand trial in the US. The home secretary is still considering the issue.
The Telegraph reports:
David Cameron suggests compromise on Gary McKinnon to Barack Obama
David Cameron has suggested to President Barack Obama that Gary McKinnon, the Briton accused of hacking into Pentagon computers, could serve some of his sentence in Britain as part of a compromise deal.
By Robert Winnett and Alex Spillius in Washington
Published: 6:55AM BST 21 Jul 2010[....]
Mr Obama had earlier said he hoped a deal could be reached in the long-running case of Mr McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome.
"Work has been going on to try and see if there isn't some way of dealing with this case where perhaps the sentences given in America that some of the - if there is a prison sentence - is served in a British prison," Mr Cameron told the BBC's Radio 5Live.However, Mr Obama said he could not interfere directly in the case and warned that the issue must be "resolved in a way that underscores the seriousness of the issue".
Mr Obama said: "One of the traditions we have is that the President doesn't get involved in decisions around prosecutions, extradition matters.
"So what I expect is my team will follow the law, but they will also co-ordinate closely with what we have just stated is an ally that is unparalleled in terms of our co-operative relationship.
"I trust that this will get resolved in a way that underscores the seriousness of the issue, but also underscores the fact that we work together, we can find an appropriate solution." Mr Cameron said he understood that Mr McKinnon was accused of a "very important and significant crime" but said he hoped "a way through" could be found.
Obviously neither the Prime Minister nor the President can be seen to directly intervene in judicial proceedings but this case is definitely a political one.
Here is a chance for the Obama administration to make amends for some of their recent anti-British political rhetoric following the BP oil pollution affair, by dropping the extradition demand they inherited from the Bush administration, in favour of an "appropriate solution" under the British system of justice.
Cameron and Obama (the letter C comes before the letter O in the Scottish Gaelic alphabet) indirectly said that Gary will plead quilty or no-contest in a U.S. court to some or all of the crimes and that he will serve most if not all of his short sentence in the U.K.
This is good. If Gary spends a few months in a prison near his family and friends, maybe with work release or weekend visits home, both governments can save face.
The treaty will have to be rewritten so that it's equal - for both, both need primie-facie (?) evidence, both sides can intervene on behalf of a sick citizen, both sides can try their citizens in their countries, etc.
Good show, Gary.
It is inconceivable that Slippery Jack Straw would have no pertinent knowledge of the facts and/or shenanigans in the Al Megrahi case ..... and his defence against an invitation to attend a Transatlantic inquisition is a valid enough one for Gary McKinnon, should such a one be necessary.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander?
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Why shouldn't he be brought to justice. He knew he was wrong and thought he could do what he pleased. he may have been sitting across the ocean but he was stealing from an American computer.
SAD AFFAIR
http://www.securitynewsportal.com/cgi-bin/news555.cgi?target=A/435887294?-18613&securitynews=Hacker%20involved%20in%20WikiLeaks%20scandal%20talks
"Manning allegedly goes on to say that he feels "isolated." His messages explain in detail his disillusionment with the way the U.S. was waging the Afghan war."
I feel for you manning - you were quite obviously had by Lamo - whom probably is wned by the NSA to say the least -
Gary - hack the planet!!!
@ allster - which part of being prosecuted in an English Court under the United Kingdom's Computer Misuse Act 1990, do you somehow think does not count as being "brought to justice" ?
http://www.securitynewsportal.com/cgi-bin/news555.cgi?target=A/438639509?-18613&securitynews=Welcome%20to%20the%20%DCber%20Net
"Über confirmed that Adrian Lamo, the much-in-the-news hacker turned Judas, was Project Vigilant's "adversary characterization analyst." Über said he personally persuaded Lamo to turn informant in the WikiLeaks case. "I'm the one who called the U.S. Government," boasted Über."
Ya - thought so - anything for the money...something average people don't understand - information is more valuable than anything else - justice, human rights, ecology, human life - and the protection of secrets is worse. What Gary's case is all about.
Wow. Dragging him though 8 years of crap for what? To make an example of him?
Sure, he made mistakes and broke the law but really - the US security services should HIRE him for his expertise - not that something as crazy as that would ever happen....
Well, we all know who is ultimately responsible for security breaches...if they were doing
their job - it wouldn't happen in the first place...give Gary a break...
As stated in the pdf file::
National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS)
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/search.html
The DIRNSA/CHCSS shall:
(4) Protect intelligence sources, methods, and activities from unauthorized disclosure,
pursuant to E.Q. 12958 (Reference (v)) and guidance received from the DNI, pursuant to
References (c) and (d).
they should concentrate on real criminals not computer hackers. 800 k worth of damage? what a crock of bullshit!!!! we all know how badly the us government lies. nothing from them is ever credible.
there are some who murder in the usa and dont even get a 10 year prison sentence.
i fully support gary mckinnon, and hope his own country stands behinds him and supports him as they should. do be like the rest of the sheep.
So, what's Gary up to these days? All us supporters would like to know if he's doing ok. In the most recent issue of Newweek, the Japanese are reported to go to doctors on average, 15 times a year and Americans 3 times. Is Gary seeing a health worker on a regular basis? Does he still play that video game? I wish him the best of luck. As a punter, I have to repeat: "trends continue" - he'll stay in the UK.
come on! he didn't steal anything, he looked. And helped raise the bar on some of the nations most sensitive security problems.
I was wrong about the threat to Gary's life. What Gary's said about not being able to be hired as well as the hints about the stress in his social life indicate that the Pentagon has already made an attempt on his life. It won't come out of the end of a gun. If you think I asked about his current condition in order to provide feed-back to the Pentagon's assassins, you're wrong. Some of the things that have happened to me since publicly supporting Gary make me think that I may be a target. Is the Examiner a British newspaper? Gary should take the following article to heart.
http://www.examiner.com/human-rights-in-national/let-s-kill-all-the-good-guys
Let's kill all the good guys
August 29th, 2010 4:27 pm ET
The Central Intelligence Agency's private security contractors, mercenaries such as Blackwater USA (Xe) for the U.S. “locate and assassinate” Americans program in existence according to government officials and reported by Stephen Crowley in The New York Times received a little more media coverage this week thanks to Chuck Norris and Paul Craig Roberts. Still hidden, however, is that the program has been operational on U.S. soil against innocent Americans and is intensifying. It is not a matter of "if" or "when" the program advances to include dissidents and other innocent Targeted Individuals.
A Targeted Individual is a person targeted "by extreme forms of harassment such as ... Cointelpro... The target is specifically singled out for deliberate psychological, social, targeting which has the ability to destroy their lives and livelihoods over time." (Targeted Individuals: Frequently Asked Questions)
Elle said "Well, we all know who is ultimately responsible for security breaches...if they were doing their job - it wouldn't happen in the first place,give Gary a break"
So if you were out shopping one day and saw a lady put down her purse while she tended to her child for something, it would be okay for you to steal her purse simply because she wasn't doing her job in paying attention to her purse? Gary knew what he was doing was wrong. Guilty as charged.
@ SuzyQ - your comparison of the US Military and Intelligence Agencies with a vulnerable woman and child is ridiculous, or even actually insulting to them.
Gary did not steal anything and he is is not charged with doing so.
Gary has always admitted that what he did was wrong - the issue is where he can receive a fair trial (based on actual evidence) and a proportionate punishment for a series of minor offences.
This could and should have been done here in England under the United Kingdom's Computer Misuse Act 1990, rather than involving extradition to the USA, where he has no hope fair trial.