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Gary McKinnon (Extradition)

This is a difficult decision, and not one that can be made by the hon. Gentleman. I admire him for the way in which he has represented his constituent, and I met him just a couple of weeks ago on a one-to-one basis. I understand that completely, but I am the only person who can make this decision and I have to make it on the basis of the facts, and all the facts. It is a quasi-judicial decision, and Lord Justice Burnton did not say that if Gary McKinnon were not extradited he could be tried in this country. I have quoted what he said—he was absolutely clear that that is a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions. It is not for politicians to decide whether someone is prosecuted and where, and he said that it would be""manifestly unsatisfactory in the extreme"" were Mr. McKinnon to be tried anywhere other in the US. On the question of the medical evidence, Professor Turk's diagnosis and opinions were handed to me by the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Angela Browning), who is sitting next to the hon. Gentleman. I stopped the clock to look at that diagnosis and those opinions very thoroughly and carefully, but they do not raise any issues that are materially, let alone fundamentally, different from those considered by Professor Baron-Cohen and Dr. Berney in the reports that were before the High Court in June 2009. Lord Justice Burnton said that Gary McKinnon's case""does not approach Article 3 severity"," and the hon. Gentleman asked which conditions did. Lord Justice Burnton pointed out a whole series of decisions in cases involving people with bipolar disorder, and people with other very serious medical conditions indeed—conditions that many would say were much more serious than the medical condition of Gary McKinnon. Those cases did not reach article 3 severity. Difficult though the decision is, I have no menu of options to choose from; there is either a breach of article 3 of the European declaration of human rights or there is not. My view is that there is not. That can be challenged in the courts.