UK-US extradition treaty 'unfair'

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the "tragic" case of computer hacker Gary McKinnon emphasised the need for British courts to have the power to refuse extradition in the "interests of justice".

The letter was sent as Liberty, the ACLU's sister group in the UK, staged a protest outside the American Embassy in London, alongside Mr McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp.

ACLU executive director Anthony Romero told Mr Miliband he was concerned that the extradition treaty posed a threat to the rights of British people.

He said the "unfair lopsided aspect" of the treaty meant that while Americans could only be extradited to the UK if "probable cause" had been established, there was no equivalent provision for Britons facing extradition to the US. This left British residents exposed to the risk of "ill-founded" extradition requests.

Mr Romero added: "We believe that all people facing extradition either to or from the US should only be sent to face trial in a foreign country after there has been meaningful judicial review."

Campaigners delivered a hamper to new US ambassador Louis Susman containing letters from the ACLU and Liberty, as well as "Don't let Gary go" paper planes and copies of the Magna Carta and the Human Rights Act.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty said: "The intervention of Liberty's sister, the ACLU, proves that Britain's Extradition Act is an international embarrassment.

"Vulnerable people like Gary McKinnon can be bundled off to other countries when they ought to be dealt with at home. Janis Sharp's campaign for fairness for her son Gary has touched the hearts of parents everywhere. If Parliament doesn't amend Britain's rotten Extradition Act to put discretion and common sense back into the system, other vulnerable sons and daughters are bound to suffer."

Mr McKinnon failed in his High Court bid last month to avoid removal to the US. The 43-year-old from Wood Green, north London, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, is wanted for trial on charges of hacking into US military networks. Campaigners believe his only crime is being a "UFO eccentric" who searched for evidence of extra-terrestrials.