Gordon Brown was yesterday urged to intervene in proceedings to extradite an alleged computer hacker to the United States.
Gordon Brown was yesterday urged to intervene in proceedings to extradite an alleged computer hacker to the United States.
Gary McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, faces up to 70 years in prison if he is found to have hacked into and damaged 97 US navy, army, Nasa and Pentagon computers.
His MP David Burrowes called for changes to the UK's agreement with the US to prevent the routine extradition of suspects like Mr McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome.
He also called for Mr Brown to ensure that if Mr McKinnon is convicted he will serve his sentence in a UK jail.
At Commons question time Mr Brown said the UK took its obligations under the agreement seriously.
Mr Burrowes (Enfield Southgate) said: "Will you ensure that extradition arrangements are changed so that UK citizens like ... Gary McKinnon are not routinely extradited despite having Asperger's syndrome.
"And will you listen to cross-party calls for an assurance that Gary McKinnon will be repatriated following a conviction in the US?"
The Prime Minister said: "The UK has important obligations in this area and we take our obligations seriously."
Mr Brown said he could not go into the specifics of the case because another hearing was due next month. But, he added: "As I understand it, both the UK and the US are signatories to the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons and this would enable a person found guilty in the USA to serve their sentence in the UK."
Mr McKinnon, 42, claims he was looking for UFO files, but the US military said he left 300 computers at a US navy weapons station unusable immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
He allegedly hacked into 53 US army computers and 26 US navy computers, including those at US Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey, which is responsible for replenishing munitions and supplies for the Atlantic fleet.
But he was caught in 2002 as he tried to download a grainy black-and-white photograph he believed was an alien spacecraft on a Nasa computer in Houston, Texas.
He was easily traced because he used his own e-mail address.
