The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has announced that the government will not seek to prosecute McKinnon, saying that the changes of successfully convicting him were "not high".
In a statement, Starmer said: "The potential difficulties in bringing a case in England and Wales now should not be underestimated, not least the passage of time, the logistics of transferring sensitive evidence prepared for a court in the US to London for trial, the participation of US government witnesses in the trial and the need fully to comply with the duties of disclosure imposed on the CPS.
"The prospects of a conviction against Mr McKinnon which reflects the full extent of his alleged criminality are not high. Against this background, the joint CPS/police panel recommended to the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police that he should not commence a new criminal investigation into Mr McKinnon. The Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has accepted that advice."
McKinnon admits accessing government computers in the United States, but says that he was looking for evidence of UFOs. The US claims that he caused nearly £500,000 worth of damage to computer systems in the process, and a successful conviction would have meant 60 years in prison for him. He suffers from Asperger's syndrome.
McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, said in a statement that she was "pleased", and that the last ten years "have been gruelling". "To have this over is amazing," she added.
An extradition warrant still hangs over McKinnon's head, meaning that he can't travel outside of the United Kingdom. "We have discussed approaching president Obama and asking for a pardon," said Sharp
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