Gary McKinnon's mother has today thanked the Home Secretary Theresa May for 'her strength and courage' in doing 'the right thing' and blocking her depressive son's extradition to America.

Ten years ago, McKinnon hacked into the websites of the US Army, the US Navy, their Air Force, the Department of Defence and NASA among others. He said he was doing it to find evidence of suppressed technology and UFOs. US authorities have described the Glasgow-born hacker's actions as the "biggest military computer hack of all time" and have demanded he face justice in America, where he could have faced 60 years in jail.

Psychiatrists reported that Mr McKinnon - who has Asperger's Syndrome - is in such a mental state over this case against him that he would kill himself if he was extradited to the US to face charges of breaching federal security.

Theresa May says: "After careful consideration of all the relevant material I have concluded that Mr McKinnon's extradition would give rise to such a high risk of him ending his life that a decision to extradite would be incompatible with Mr McKinnon's human rights. I have therefore withdrawn the extradition order against Mr McKinnon. It will now be for the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether Mr McKinnon has a case to answer in a UK curt. This has been a difficult and exceptional case and I would like to pay tribute to all the Home Office officials and lawyers who have worked on this case over the years."

In an interview with ITV News, Gary McKinnon's mother says he's gone from being a musician, swimmer and cyclist to spending most of his days in his room with the curtains drawn in total darkness.

Written and presented by Marverine Cole.