McKinnon To Be Extradited As Tories Lose Commons' Battle

The Conservatives Party’s last attempts to save the self-confessed hacker Gary McKinnon from being extradited to the US finally ended up in failure, with the Party’s calls for the Government to revisit McKinnon’s case have been defeated in the House of Commons.

In an opposition day debate, the Conservatives demanded for a review of the hacker’s extradition case, as well as the UK’s lop-sided extradition treaty with the US.

As per the extradition arrangement between the two countries, the US doesn’t need to give any evidence to support an extradition request, while the UK does if it wishes to extradite someone from the US.

In what could be seen as a death nail in McKinnon’s extradition case, the Conservatives Party motion was defeated by 290 votes to 236 votes following a two-hour debate over the issue.

The UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson in no uncertain words made it clear that he could not interfere in the case. Citing the same, he said, “The Home Secretary is legally obliged to order extradition except where there is a possibility that the person could be sentenced to death, where there are inadequate arrangements, or if the person to be extradited has previously been extradited from another country”.

He further dismissed any possibility of reviewing extradition treaty by the existing Government, after the Conservatives motion to achieve this was thrashed out.

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