North London resident Gary McKinnon who is facing extradition to the United States has won the "sympathy" of Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a move that is seen as step "in the right direction" for the British government to prevent the Asperger sufferer being sent to a US jail.
Gary McKinnon was accused of hacking into the computer system of the US government to find evidence of UFO's, and claims to this day he had no intention of endangering US security.
The Prime Minister in a press conference at Downing Street said:
"Anybody who looks at this must be sympathetic to someone who suffers from Aspergers syndrome".
"There are court cases pending at the moment one challenging the Director of Public Prosecutions for his judgment and I think we have to wait for the outcome of these court cases".
"I don’t think people want a law which gives the country absolute discretion in who comes in and who comes out of the country by way of extradition."
An appeal at the High Court will be heard next week which will try and get the hearing of Gary McKinnon in the UK and not require him to be extradited to the US.
Several newspapers including the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph have run extensive editorials campaigning for McKinnon to be tried in the UK and to prevent extradition to the US.
Lawyers acting for Gary McKinnon claim that extradition would lead to "disastrous consequences" including possible suicide because of his medical condition.
Authorities have filed murder charges against a local mayor over the massacre of 57 unarmed civilians in the Philippines, state-run media reported Thursday. Andal Ampatuan Jr. voluntarily turned himself in.
