WIKILEAKS FILES: US REBUFFED BROWN OVER MCKINNON OFFER

BBC NEWS

Gordon Brown was rebuffed after suggesting Gary McKinnon could plead guilty to computer hacking and make a statement of contrition in return for serving his sentence in the UK.

Campaigners say existing extradition rules are biased against the UK and are being used for offences they were not intended to cover.

The review of the laws, being carried out by Sir Scott Baker, is examining whether the 2003 extradition treaty is "unbalanced" and what discretion the home secretary should have to intervene in individual cases.

Current extradition arrangements will continue until the review - which is also looking at the application of the European arrest warrant - is completed.

The European arrest warrant means EU members can ask for fast-track extradition of an individual without providing prima-facie evidence to the courts, usually as long as the offence is a crime in both countries and carries a prison sentence of more than one year.

But Fair Trials International has said more than 1,000 people have been detained and extradited under what it says is a "no-questions-asked" system.