Hacker McKinnon loses latest legal battle

Computer hacker Gary McKinnon lost the latest round in his battle against deportation to the US today when he was refused permission to appeal to the newly created British Supreme Court.

The High Court, which had turned down his earlier request to be tried in Britain instead of America, ruled that his case did not raise "points of law of general public importance" and therefore did not meet the criteria to allow an appeal.

McKinnon's lawyers said they would consider applying to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, but the 43-year-old now faces the reality of deportation to America where he could be jailed for more than 60 years if he is convicted of hacking into the country's military networks.

His supporters claim McKinnon, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, is a "UFO eccentric" who was searching for evidence of aliens when he broke into the Pentagon computer system. But prosecutors in the US have described his actions as "the biggest military computer hack of all time". It is claimed he caused $800,000 worth of damage.

McKinnon, who was born in Glasgow but now lives in Wood Green, north London, had sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, which only came into being this month with the intention of taking over many of the judicial functions of the House of Lords.

McKinnon had also hoped that the High Court might rule that his diagnosis as a sufferer of Asperger's Syndrome meant he couldn’t be extradited to the US. But the court did not agree.

McKinnon's case has become a cause celebre and has attracted high-profile support from the likes of Terry Waite, Sting and his wife Trudy Styler, Julie Christie, London mayor Boris Johnson and MPs from all parties.

A cross-party group of MPs emerged empty-handed yesterday after a 30-minute meeting with Home Secretary Alan Johnson in which they urged the government to intervene. ·