Waite: Pentagon should thank hacker

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Mr Waite, who was kidnapped in the Lebanon in 1987 and held for more than four years, said the Pentagon ought to thank the self-confessed computer hacker for "exposing" the fragility of its IT security.

He said McKinnon's form of Autism made him "irrationally obsessive" and it was a "waste of time" to pursue him.

McKinnon has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. He is challenging Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's decision to allow his extradition.

Mr Waite said he supported the efforts of the authorities to "track down and stop illegal activity" on the web.

But he said some "common sense" was needed in this case.

He said: "Gary is clearly a very clever chap. He has that unique ability to find his way through the internet jungle and enter the inner recesses of the Pentagon. Full marks for his ingenuity.

"Was Gary a spy? Was he attempting to bring down the mighty military force of the USA? As far as I know he was not. He was simply looking for little green men!"

"Anyone who has the slightest acquaintance with that problem (Asperger's Syndrome) will know that while the sufferer can be, and indeed often is, brilliant in certain logical processes they can become irrationally obsessive in other directions."

He said McKinnon's behaviour was "hardly that of a serious spy" and his motives were "pretty harmless". He added: "The Pentagon ought to thank him for exposing the vulnerability of their systems."