A GREAT DAY FOR GARY – AND BRITISH JUSTICE
After a 3-year Mail campaign bitterly opposed by America, British courts and civil servants, Theresa May yesterday courageously decided Asperger’s sufferer Gary Mckinnon will NOT be extradited for hacking Pentagon computers in pursuit of little green men
HIS life has been on hold for a decade, but last night Gary McKinnon was finally able to look to a future free from the almost certain death sentence of extradition. After Theresa May’s 11th hour decision to defy US demands to bundle him on a plane, the 46-year-old Asperger’s sufferer said: ‘I have spent the past ten years living with a dark and hollow feeling. ‘I have always thought that if things went against me, I would just have to end it all and take my own life. Now I just feel that I have been set free.’ Mr McKinnon’s mental health has been destroyed by the prospect of up to 60 years behind bars for hacking into Pentagon and Nasa computers. A string of experts reached the chilling conclusion that he would almost certainly kill himself if sent to the US – leading Home Secretary Mrs May to halt his extradition on medical grounds. For his own wellbeing, Mr McKinnon, who is undergoing constant psychiatric treatment, did not appear in public yesterday. But, supported by his long-standing girlfriend Lucy Clarke, he told the Mail: ‘I had no hopes for a future, no way of making plans, no thoughts of asking Lucy to share my life, no thoughts of whether I could ever have children or get work. ‘It still does not feel real – but only now am I starting to feel as if a shutter has flipped up and lifted in my head.’ He now has to begin the delicate process of trying to regain his mental health after ten years of living in constant fear. In a day of extraordinary developments, Mrs May blocked his extradition on human rights grounds, citing the need to protect him from inhumane or degrading treatment. Mr McKinnon’s bail conditions, imposed since 2005, have been lifted, meaning he can once again use a computer and access the internet. The decision is an extraordinary victory for the Daily Mail’s An Affront to British Justice campaign, launched in 2009 to allow Mr McKinnon to be tried in the UK. Mrs May took the decision – alone – at the last moment without consulting her American counterpart. It is the first time a Home Secretary has halted extradition to the US under the controversial extradition Act of 2003. David Cameron and the Cabinet learnt the news only at mid-morning yesterday – just before it was announced in a statement to an electric House of Commons. MPs cheered when the decision was delivered. They applauded the Home Secretary for defying the clear wishes of the US administration, which remained determined to haul Mr McKinnon across the Atlantic.
MPs lavished praise on Mrs May
A succession of Labour home secretaries had agreed to bow to Washington’s demands to extradite Mr McKinnon – despite his crimes being committed from the bedroom of his North London flat. He was looking for evidence of the existence of ‘little green men’ at the time. In a truly dramatic day: Mrs May also announced sweeping reforms to the lopsided extradition Act; The Director of Public Prosecutions was asked to consider prosecuting Mr McKinnon in the UK; The US government said it was ‘disappointed’ with the decision which a former White House adviser derided as ‘laughable’; His mother, Janis Sharp, tearfully praised the Daily Mail for helping to save her son. Mrs May told MPs: ‘Since I came into office, the sole issue on which I have been required to make a decision is whether Mr McKinnon’s extradition to the United States would breach his human rights. ‘Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes. But there is also no doubt that he is seriously ill. ‘He has Asperger’s syndrome, and suffers from depressive illness. The legal question before me is now whether the extent of that illness is sufficient to preclude extradition. ‘After careful consideration of all of the relevant material, I have concluded that Mr McKinnon’s extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon’s human rights.’ To cheering, she continued: ‘I have therefore withdrawn the extradition order against Mr McKinnon. It will now be for the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether Mr McKinnon has a case to answer in a UK court.’ Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg – a staunch supporter of Mr McKinnon in opposition – praised the Home Secretary and said he was delighted with the outcome. Mr McKinnon’s MP David Burrowes, who threatened to resign if the extradition went ahead, said: ‘Today is a victory for compassion, and pre- election promises being kept.’ Hopes that Mr McKinnon would win his fight were raised in recent days after Home Office appointed psychiatrists warned that he would be very likely to attempt suicide if sent to the US. The medical report, written by Professor Declan Murphy and Professor Tom Fahy, reviewed studies from three experts in Asperger’s and suicide – including Dr Jan Vermeulen – who examined Mr McKinnon earlier this year. The professors said: ‘His (Vermeulen’s) reports confirm the presence of significant depressive symptoms, hopelessness and entrenched suicidal thoughts.’ Mr McKinnon’s lawyer Karen Todner said it was ‘a great day for British justice’ and added that she hoped the DPP ‘might consider that Gary has suffered enough’. Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said the Daily Mail’s support had been instrumental. Trudie Styler, who has supported this newspaper’s campaign against the extradition, said the Home Secretary had shown humanity and courage. Tory MPs lavished praise on Mrs May, whose action came only 24 hours after she announced the repatriation of more than 100 crime and justice powers from Brussels. Backbenchers considered her steely performances worthy of a potential leadership contender. But David Rivkin, former White House counsel to President Reagan and the first President Bush, said the ‘laughable’ decision would go down ‘very badly’ in the US. ‘It’s really deplorable,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme. ‘Under this logic, all a person needs to say to not get extradited is “I’m going to kill myself”. ‘Under that argument, why do you even arrest anybody?’ Comment – Page 14