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Gary McKinnon (Extradition)

I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman accepts the fact about the so-called discretion. My discretion—if the word is suitable—allows me to look at Gary McKinnon's case against the tests that are set out in law. As it was after Gary McKinnon had been through the district court, the High Court, the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights that he was diagnosed as having Asperger's, that was a supervening diagnosis, which meant that the then Home Secretary had to look at the matter against the European declaration on human rights. The hon. Gentleman talked about Gary McKinnon's offences. This is not a matter of my finding Gary McKinnon innocent or guilty. There are very serious charges against Mr. McKinnon—the hon. Gentleman does not contest that and neither, incidentally, does the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr. Burrowes), Mr. McKinnon's constituency MP. They are serious charges and Mr. McKinnon has to answer those charges. The Director of Public Prosecutions has decided that that has to take place in the US. There is no further right of appeal—the High Court would not allow a judicial review. So we come to whether that breaches Gary McKinnon's human rights. All the legal cases quoted by Lord Justice Burnton relate to medical conditions and mental health conditions that are far worse than those that apply to Mr. McKinnon. The hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) asked whether there is truth in the rumour that we were going to prosecute Mr. McKinnon in the UK. No, there is no truth in that rumour. All the actions in this case are clear for anyone to see from the time Mr. McKinnon was charged onwards through all the processes of the law and then through the processes of the law again. The hon. Gentleman talked, once again, about an imbalance between the level of evidence that the US must apply to the UK in order to get someone extradited and the evidence that we must put before the US courts. He said that there is an imbalance between probable cause and reasonable suspicion. I pointed out that that is academic in the case of Mr. McKinnon because he has admitted the charges. However, members of both main Opposition parties have argued about this point. That argument was made in 2003, when the treaty was being concluded. What has happened since? In how many cases have we failed to get extradition from the US? None. Zilch. Nil. None whatsoever. Every case we have made to the US using probable cause has been successful. In contrast, there are seven cases in which the US has sought extradition from this country that are still held up in the system. The hon. Gentleman said that my decision damages relationships between this country and the US. That is a bizarre interpretation given the serious nature of these crimes and the fact that America, a friendly state with a mature democratic judicial system, wants to extradite Gary McKinnon to face trial. The interpretation, were that to affect our relationship with the US in any way, should be the other way around.