McKinnon has said that he believes he faces up to 70 years in
jail in the US. When he was initially arrested by the National Hi
Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) in 2002, UK prosecutors refused to charge
him and he was told he would receive community service.
He was later indicted by the US and the extradition process was
begun. A London district judge recommended extradition in May, but
the Home Secretary had the final decision.
"On 4 July the secretary of state signed an order for Mr
McKinnon's extradition to the United States for charges connected
with computer hacking," said a Home Office statement. " Mr McKinnon
now has the opportunity, within 14 days, to appeal against the
decisions of the district judge/secretary of state."
McKinnon has publicly admitted to gaining unauthorised access to
US military computer systems. He is accused by the US of accessing
97 military and NASA computer systems in 2001 and 2002 and of
gaining access to one computer at military headquarters the
Pentagon.
He has said that he was looking for information about UFOs and
US anti-gravity technology. He rejects the characterisation of his
activities by one US prosecutor as "the biggest military hack of
all time", and says he was a "bumbling computer nerd".
In the past McKinnon has expressed fears that he would be tried
as a terrorist by a military court and sent to Cuban prison camp
Guantanemo Bay. At an extradition hearing in April the prosecution
produced an unsigned note it claimed was from the US Embassy which
guaranteed that McKinnon would not be tried under Military Order 1.
The defence argued that the note was not binding because it was
unsigned.
The Extradition Act of 2003 does not demand that a request from
the US be based on evidence of the charges and has been criticised
by human rights groups.
