Treaty talks over Scots hacker Gary McKinnon

THE Scottish computer hacker Gary McKinnon could avoid extradition after Prime Minister David Cameron appeared to cave into pressure over the controversial treaty with the United States.

Mr Cameron said the extradition treaty would be looked at again in the light of the McKinnon case and that of Kent businessman Christopher Tappin, recently extradited to Texas.

It is understood that Mr Cameron did not mention any individual cases with President Obama during talks in the White House yesterday. But the two leaders agreed to ask officials to discuss concerns that have been raised.

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Mr Cameron is thought to want to explore the possibility of whether more cases can be heard before UK courts. Mr McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, is facing extradition for hacking US military computers. He claims he was looking for evidence of UFO sightings and wishes to be tried in the UK.

Mr Cameron said he recognised public concerns about the treaty and had “raised this issue with President Obama”.