Hacker’s mother: Gary’s life has been destroyed

THE mother of computer hacker Gary McKinnon has called for her son to stand trial in Britain as she spoke of how attempts to extradite him to the United States have “destroyed” his life.

Janis Sharp said her son was suffering severe depression.

“This will be his tenth Christmas since his arrest and it has destroyed his life and it has destroyed ours,” she said.

“Here, the Crown Prosecution Service said in 2002 that Gary was looking at six months’ community service, but then when the Americans took over suddenly it becomes 60 years.

“So there is a huge disparity.”

Ms Sharp was speaking after MPs last night urged the government to improve safeguards for British citizens wanted by authorities overseas by reforming extradition laws.

The Commons agreed without a vote to call on ministers to bring forward new laws and attempt to change the UK-US extradition treaty and European arrest warrant regime.

Mr McKinnon has spent seven years facing the threat of extradition to the US after he hacked into top-secret military computers in 2002.

American officials have demanded that he is tried in the US despite expert opinions warning that his mental condition could lead him to commit suicide.

The Glasgow-born 45-year-old admits the crimes, but claims he was looking for evidence of UFOs.

Ms Sharp said: “Our argument is to try Gary here and to be given a proportional sentence. ”

The Commons debate was granted by the back-bench business committee to Tory Dominic Raab, who called for ministers to “inject a dose of common sense into the blunt extradition regime”.