McKinnon extradition case to be examined by MPs
Gary McKinnon has been fighting extradition to the US for several years The mother of Gary McKinnon is to give evidence to MPs looking into the UK's extradition laws.
Janis Sharp, whose son faces extradition to the US for computer hacking offences, will appear before the home affairs committee. A High Court decision on whether Mr McKinnon's extradition could go ahead was adjourned in May and ministers have announced a review of existing rules.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have both expressed concerns about the case.
Mr McKinnon - who has Asperger's syndrome - faces up to 60 years in jail if he is convicted in the US.
Campaigners say existing extradition rules are biased against the UK and are being used for offences they were not intended to cover.
The review, being carried out by Sir Scott Baker, is examining whether the 2003 extradition treaty is "unbalanced" and what discretion the home secretary should have to intervene in individual cases.
Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon is accused of hacking into US military computer systems in 2001 and 2002, altering and deleting files in the process.
He does not deny hacking into systems but insists he was seeking evidence of UFOs.
Home Secretary Theresa May agreed to an adjournment of a High Court decision on whether his extradition could go ahead.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs committee, said the fact ministers had made no decision about his case since then "highlighted the importance" of Parliament looking at the issue of the UK's arrangements with the US and its extradition rules in general.
Post 9/11 Treaty
Other witnesses giving evidence on Tuesday include former Home Secretary David Blunkett, who signed the treaty, and Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil liberties organisation Liberty.
The last Labour government insisted there was no evidence to suggest an "imbalance" in the extradition rules or the tests applied and Mr Blunkett has said that sensible discussions with the UK's partners could resolve "any irritants quite speedily".
But critics of the US/UK treaty, agreed between Washington and London in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks of 2001, say it is easier to extradite people from the UK than the US.
They say the arrangement is not reciprocal because the US does not need to present evidence to a British court to request extradition, while the UK still needs to present evidence to an American court.
While originally designed to make it easier to bring terrorist suspects to justice, campaigners say the treaty is being used to seek extradition for fraud and drug offences.
Civil liberties groups say no British citizen should be sent for trial in a foreign country without due process and if they could be tried at home.
Ministers have said the current extradition arrangements are causing controversy and that the review will ensure they work "efficiently and in the interests of justice".
Current extradition arrangements will continue until the review - which is also looking at the application of the European arrest warrant - is completed.
The European arrest warrant means EU members can ask for fast-track extradition of an individual without providing prima-facie evidence to the courts, usually as long as the offence is a crime in both countries and carries a prison sentence of more than one year.
But Fair Trials International has said more than 1,000 people have been detained and extradited under what it says is a "no-questions-asked" system.
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