Hacker loses extradition appeal bid

Condemnation of the High Court decision was led by Mr McKinnon's mother, who said her son was being "offered up as a sacrificial lamb" to safeguard the UK's "special political relationship" with America.

Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, who has Asperger's Syndrome, insists his hacking was simply aimed at searching for reports of UFO sightings,

Janis Sharp said: "To use my desperately vulnerable son in this way is despicable, immoral and devoid of humanity."

Tory backbencher David Davis said: "The reason this decision has been arrived at is because the British Government created a set of laws and agreements which, masquerading as anti-terror laws, actually disadvantaged a whole range of British citizens.

"This is why the courts find themselves having to dispatch this man to America, when he should face a proper trial in British courts. It is long past time that this travesty of justice was put right."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "The Government's one-sided extradition treaty with the US and its refusal to stand up to the Americans looks like it will result in a vulnerable man being hung out to dry."

The High Court, which has turned down Mr McKinnon's extradition challenges, refused leave to appeal, ruling that the case did not raise "points of law of general public importance" - a prerequisite of being able to pursue a cause in the new Supreme Court.

His lawyers said they would now consider applying to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

They argue that extraditing him would lead to "disastrous consequences" for his health, including possible psychosis and suicide.