 Reid agrees British hacker can be deported for US trial
· American prosecutors say £375,000 damage caused
· Defence claims UFO 'nerd' may face Guantánamo jail internment
A Briton accused of hacking into the Pentagon's computers is to be extradited to the US, the Home Office has confirmed. Gary McKinnon, from north London, stands accused of what American prosecutors call the "biggest military hack of all time", and potentially faces a sentence of 70 years if found guilty.
The decision over his future had been left to the discretion of the home secretary, John Reid, after a lengthy hearing at Bow Street magistrates court. Lawyers defending Mr McKinnon had claimed that the 40-year-old might even face the prospect of a military tribunal and potential internment in Guantánamo Bay as a so-called enemy of the state.
But Mr Reid decided that the extradition should go ahead. "On July 4, the secretary of state signed an order for Mr McKinnon's extradition ... for charges connected with computer hacking", a Home Office spokesman said. "Mr McKinnon had exercised his right to submit representation against his return, but the secretary of state did not consider the issues raised availed Mr McKinnon."
Defence lawyers had argued the self-confessed "computer nerd" might be stripped of the right to representation if tried under America's severe Military Order No 1, which can be enforced at the president's discretion. Such military tribunals were last week ruled illegal by the US supreme court, but it is not known whether this affected Mr Reid's decision.
The case dates back to 2001, when it is alleged Mr Reid logged on from his home in Wood Green, north London, and hacked into computers belonging to the Pentagon, US army, air force and Nasa. Under the codename Solo he is said during a period of 18 months to have accessed hundreds of military machines which had not been properly secured by US officials.
US prosecutors claim he caused $700,000 (£375,000) worth of damage. A lawyer for the US government said the hacking "was intentional and calculated to influence and affect the US government by intimidation and coercion". But in an interview with the Guardian last year, Mr McKinnon claimed he had simply been searching for evidence of UFO activity.
The charges include one incident - shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 - which brought down a network of 300 computers at the Earle naval weapons station in New Jersey. Another raid allegedly knocked out 2,000 computers in Washington.
Mr McKinnon told the BBC last night that he was "very worried and feeling very let down by my own government", and would appeal against the outcome. Defence lawyers argue he should be tried in the UK under British law, rather than sent to face trial in the US. But a district judge labelled such claims "fanciful". Mr McKinnon now has 14 days to appeal the home secretary's decision.  | 
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