MPs call for revamp of extradition laws with US

Gary McKinnon is facing extradition to the USA after carrying out the biggest military "hack" of all time when he broke into various government websites searching for proof of "alien" technology (PA)

MPs last night demanded an overhaul of extradition laws after the battle between Britain and the United States over the alleged computer hacker Gary McKinnon intensified.

They lined up to call for the extradition arrangements between the two countries, as well as to other European nations, to be "urgently renegotiated". The moves were agreed without a vote after an impassioned three-hour Commons debate. Mr McKinnon, aged 45, was arrested after he hacked into Pentagon and Nasa computers.

His supporters say he could not cope with extradition and a potentially long jail sentence, because he suffers from Asperger's syndrome.

Opening the debate, the Tory MP Dominic Raab called for ministers to "inject a dose of common sense into the blunt extradition regime".

Damian Green, the Immigration minister, said the Government was considering how to make extradition laws work "efficiently and fairly".