Gary McKinnon Extradition Blocked

16 October 2012, 19:15 | Updated: 16 October 2012, 19:21

Gary McKinnon's mother says she's overwhelmed, after Home Secretary Theresa May used the Human Rights Act to halt her son's extradition to the US.

46 year old Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, has Asperger's syndrome and has been fighting against being sent to America for 10 years.

US prosecutors accuse him of the biggest military computer hack of all time, but he claims he was simply looking for evidence of UFOs.

It will now be for the director of public prosecutions (DPP) Keir Starmer QC to decide whether Mr McKinnon should face charges in the UK.

Mrs May stopped his extradition on human rights grounds after medical reports showed the 46-year-old was very likely to try to kill himself if extradited.

"After careful consideration of all of the relevant material, I have concluded that Mr McKinnon's extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon's human rights," she told MPs.

Gary's mum, Janis Sharp said: "I know it's been a life-saving decision because Gary doesn't travel abroad, he doesn't go on holiday, he very rarely leaves north London, and to be taken from everything you know, your family, everything, thousands of miles away is so terrifying to him.