British computer expert Gary McKinnon today lost his latest High Court bid to avoid extradition to America where he faces trial for hacking into US military networks.
His lawyers argued that extraditing the 43-year-old, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, would lead to "disastrous consequences" for his health, including possible psychosis and suicide.
But today Lord Justice Stanley Burnton and Mr Justice Wilkie, sitting in London, dismissed his claim for judicial review.
Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, north London, asked the court to overturn decisions of successive Home Secretaries allowing his extradition to go ahead.
He also challenged a refusal by Keir Starmer QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), to put him on trial in the UK on charges of computer misuse. A UK trial would allow him to avoid extradition.
Lord Justice Burnton said: "For the reasons set out in the judgment the claims against the secretary of state and DPP are dismissed."
Lawyers for Mr McKinnon, who was told the decision yesterday, described him as a "UFO eccentric" who had been searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life, and described the idea that he was a danger to US national security as "a complete fantasy".
The US authorities said Mr McKinnon was responsible for the "biggest military hack of all time" that had been highly damaging and involved 97 government computers belonging to organisations including the US Navy and Nasa.
A large campaign involving family, politicians, civil rights groups, sympathetic media and celebrities has supported the hacker's long battle against extradition.
His mother, Janis Sharp, has expressed fears that he could face a 60-year sentence in a tough US jail and she would never see him again.