The Home Secretary Replies

Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, explains the reasons he cannot stop Garry McKinnon's extradition. Writing in the Sunday Times, he emphasises the fact that it would be unlawful for the home secretary to intervene to prevent his extradition.

He also mentions that the court was clear Garry McKinnon should be tried in the United States because the crimes he is accused of committing - although they were conducted from a computer in his bedroom in the UK - did not remotely affect people in this country. They affected critical government security systems in America.

The article reveals no 'new' information which will be of help to the McKinnon campaign to have the case held in the UK. I should think they already know Mr Johnson's thoughts.

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Who Signed This Agreement?

The Westminster government ought to hang their heads in shame at the result of the legal appeal against Garry Mackinnon.

Disregarding the fact the judges may be correct in their assessment of the law, what is most important here is who signed an agreement between the UK and the US which is a one-way extradition agreement only of benefit to the US?

Garry Mackinnon allegedly threw the security system of the US into chaos when he was looking for evidence about UFOs. The man used freely available software to get into secure US websites. This alleged offence occurred in 2003 but no action was taken for a few years and he was completely free to continue his computer activities until 2005.

Then the US pounced and decided he was a threat to their nation. His mother and lawyers been down every avenue to explain Garry's personality and reasons, along with Garry himself.

Even so, the European Court of Human Rights agree that he must be sent to the US.

No political party has done anything to help this man, but he's been given much synthetic sympathy from every party. Gordon Brown sympathises. Aye right.

Someone, in the Westminster government. signed an extradition agreement with the US which stated that any UK citizen who allegedly committed a crime, here in the UK, against the security of their country should be sent to the US for trial. Nobody had the sense to insist that the agreement was mutual.

What is going on between the UK government and the US? Thankfully we are now learning about these 'secret' agreements but who is signing them? Why are we still in the 'pay' of the US?

I thought we paid the final installment of our interest-loaded debt to the US a couple of years ago - for the loan they gave to Britain after WW2. Indeed they did save us from bankruptcy but we've paid most handsomely throughout my lifetime. Why are we still in their debt?

Most of all I would like to know who signed this agreement and why.

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