Update Feb 2008: Gary McKinnon's House of Lords appeal hearing date is now set provisionally for Thursday 19th June 2008. Background: A Briton accused of hacking into Nasa and US military computer networks has spoken out about his experiences. (Gary McKinnon was arrested by the UK's national high-tech crime unit in 2002.)
McKinnon earns Lords appeal
Pentagon hacker in legal victory
By John Leyden
Published Tuesday 31st July 2007 10:30 GMT
Gary McKinnon, the British hacker facing extradition over allegations he broke into US Military and NASA sites, has earned the right to take his case to the House of Lords.
The law Lords agreed to hear arguments that US authorities acted in an "oppressive" and "arbitrary" manner during plea bargaining negotiations, for example by allegedly threatening McKinnon over the loss of rights to serve part of his sentence in the UK unless he submitted to voluntary extradition.
The House of Lords was not bound to consider McKinnon's final appeal - for example it declined to hear the appeal of the NatWest Three bankers, so the Lords' decision is a significant fillip for McKinnon and his legal team.
As of Feb 2008 Gary McKinnon's House of Lords appeal hearing date is set provisionally for Thursday 19th June 2008.