McKinnon's mother pleads hacker's case

Gary McKinnon is still fighting extradition to the US

Gary McKinnon's lawyer and family will plead for a four-week stay in his trial tomorrow as the case finally comes to court.

McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, said in a televised interview that her son, who is fighting extradition to the US, has apparently won the support of the UK's new director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, who has agreed to re-examine the case.

"The director of public prosecutions said he is seriously considering Gary's case and needs four weeks to do it. I believe in him. I think he's a good man," she said in an interview on ITV's This Morning today.

McKinnon claims that he was looking for evidence of UFOs when he hacked into Nasa's computers using a dial-up connection some seven years ago. Last year he was diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome.

If he is extradited, McKinnon faces up to 70 years in a high-security US prison.