Nasa hacker gets legal deadline extended

Gary McKinnon's legal team has been given more time to request a judicial review of the home secretary's decision not to halt McKinnon's extradition to the United States.

Home secretary Alan Johnson has granted an extension of the deadline until 10 December, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by Kaim Todner, McKinnon's solicitors.

Johnson released his decision not to intervene on Thursday, and McKinnon was given seven days from then to initiate judicial review proceedings. His defence team asked for an extension until 17 December and has now been granted an extra week by the government.

McKinnon is facing extradition to the United States to face charges of causing damage to 97 US military systems, including those belonging to Nasa and the Department of Defense.

The self-confessed hacker's supporters have called for his extradition to be stopped on the grounds that it would contravene Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which forbids inhuman treatment. In the House of Commons on Wednesday, Johnson defended his decision that the article did not apply in McKinnon's case.