UK politicians to vote on McKinnon extradition treaty

UK POLITICIANS will vote on a motion that allows fast-track extradition of UK citizens to the US, as criticism of the treatment of accused NASA hacker Gary McKinnon grows.

The government inked a deal with the US for sending alleged criminals across the Atlantic to face trial and possible imprisonment, but Tory MP Dominic Raab and others recently secured a House of Commons debate and vote on the new treaty.

The vote is to alter the treaty in order to better protect the rights of British citizens, and it is widely believed that it will be passed, since it will be hard for MPs to argue against protecting their own people.

However, even with approval for the motion, it will not be legally binding and might have no real effect on the UK's extradition policy. However, it will add pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to step in, according to The Telegraph.

The debate was sparked by the call for the extradition of Gary McKinnon, a Londoner with Asperger's Syndrome who allegedly hacked into computers owned by NASA and the Pentagon. This secured him a prominent place on the US law enforcement 'most wanted' list.

McKinnon's mother told The Daily Mail that the US Ambassador and Attorney General are putting pressure on MPs to vote against the motion, which she said is "inappropriate interference in Britain's affairs". She added that both the US and UK knew that McKinnon was not a real threat and that the situation he is in amounts to "psychological torture".

A recent review of the treaty dismissed accusations that it was biased against British citizens, but that review was deemed to provide guidelines only, and clearly many MPs are still unhappy with it.

The Commons motion will also explore the potential for abuse of the European Arrest Warrent (EAW).

Loz Kaye, leader of the UK's Pirate Party, said in a tweet, "A major day for #extradition policy. Time to end the abuses of UK/US extradition and the EAW." µ