Mrs May told the House of Commons: "Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes, but there is also no doubt that he is seriously ill, I have concluded that Mr McKinnon's extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon's human rights. I have therefore withdrawn the extradition order against Mr McKinnon."
A State Department spokeswoman told reporters: "That the United States is disappointed by the decision to deny Gary McKinnon's extradition to face long overdue justice in the United States. We are examining the details of the decision," The spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, insisted the 10-year legal battle had not undermined the close ties between London and Washington. "I think you know we have an incredible alliance and that will obviously continue," she said.
Gary McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp -- who has campaigned vigorously for her son -- thanked Mrs May for having "the guts" to block the extradition and said her son was "incredibly emotional" at the decision. He was arrested in London in 2002 for hacking into dozens of Pentagon and NASA computers, leaving 300 machines at a naval air station immobilised just after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Mr McKinnon has never denied the hacking, claiming he was looking for classified US documents on UFOs.
He could have faced up to 60 years in a US jail for the breaches, which the United States says caused $800,000 (615,000 euros) worth of damage. The hacker, who has become a symbol of the with the United States, lost appeals in Britain's House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights during his decade-long fight McKinnon was diagnosed with Asperger's, a form of autism, in 2007, after an expert on the condition watched him in a television interview and contacted the hacker's lawyer.
In an emotional press conference in London, his mother said she was "overwhelmed". Fighting back tears, she said: "I'm incredibly happy. I want to say thank you to Theresa May, because it was an incredibly brave decision -- to stand up to another nation as strong and powerful as America is rare." She said her son had not been able to speak when he heard about the decision. It had been "horrendous" watching him mentally deteriorate over the last decade as the extradition process hung over him, she said. "He felt he was dead," Sharp told journalists. "He would just sit in the dark all the time... we saw him shut down."
Mr McKinnon's lawyer Karen Todner said it was "a great day for British justice". "I have represented Gary for over 10 years," she told journalists. "It has been a rollercoaster and a hard fight, but worth it in the end." She urged British prosecutors not to pursue a case against McKinnon, saying he had suffered enough over the last decade. "There is very clear medical evidence that Gary is very depressed and possibly unfit to plead," she added.
Gary McKinnon's MP David Burrows (Con Enfield Southgate) has praised the Home Secretary's decision to block his constituent's extradition to the United States over the hacking of military computers Mr Burrowes thanked Mrs May for "saving my constituent's life". Mr Burrowes described the decision as "a victory for compassion" and called for "a return to the principles of justice and fair play" in extradition.
Caroline Lucas (Green Brighton Pavillion) said: “The landmark decision by Theresa May today to block the extradition of Gary McKinnon is fantastic news for the campaign – and a tribute to the incredible efforts of Gary’s mother, Janis Sharp, in fighting for her son’s right to remain in the UK.
“It is deeply regrettable then, that other British citizens including Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan – detained in the UK without charge or trial for eight and six years respectively – were not extended the same fair treatment. That neither was tried on British soil before being extradited to the US earlier this month, despite the fact that any alleged offences are said to have been committed here, is completely unacceptable. These disturbing cases have helped to expose the alarming bias and injustice embedded in the US-UK extradition arrangements, which gives the US government disproportionate control over the fate of UK citizens.
“Almost a year ago, MPs voted on a motion to urgently reform the deeply flawed extradition arrangements. Despite today’s welcome announcement by the Home Secretary, we are still waiting for a fundamental overhaul of the extradition process. We cannot continue to allow British justice to be outsourced to the US – to uphold the rule of British law, the government must bring in the urgent legislation called for by parliament to reform this dangerously asymmetric treaty."
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson accused Mrs May of blocking the extradition for "her own party interests" a comment which was denied by Mrs May.
