McKinnon pleads guilty to UK hacking offence

Hacker hopes that a UK conviction could avoid extradition to US

McKinnon hopes to avoid extradition

UK hacker Gary McKinnon is pursuing a new route to avoid extradition to the US by pleading guilty to an offence in this country.

McKinnon faces trial in the US over allegations that he hacked into Pentagon and Nasa systems, but he is trying every option to avoid being extradited after US prosecutors told him they wanted to see him "fry". If found guilty before a US court, McKinnon could be sentenced to life in prison.

According to a report in The Guardian, his lawyers have now approached the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) offering a guilty plea to an offence under the Computer Misuse Act, given that the offence was committed in Britain. If convicted, McKinnon could be less likely to be extradited to the US.

The CPS has said it is considering the matter.

McKinnon has never denied hacking, but has claimed that he was not motivated by malice and was simply looking for evidence of the existence of UFOs. The US government claims that he deleted files and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

McKinnon has consistently tried to avoid extradition, but an appeal to the Law Lords was rejected in July last year, following a similar rejection from the High Court in 2006.