Britain's top law enforcement official on Thursday approved the extradition to the US of an alleged computer hacker accused of damaging US military systems.
Gary McKinnon, 40, has two weeks to appeal the order, signed on Tuesday by Home Secretary John Reid, the Home Office said.
A judge ruled in May that Mc-Kinnon, who has been indicted in New Jersey and northern Virginia, should be sent to the US to face trial. The decision required Reid's approval. His office said he was not convinced by the arguments McKinnon raised in his defense.
McKinnon said he planned to appeal, telling British Broadcasting Corp television: "I am very worried and feeling very let down by my own government."
He is accused of illegally accessing 97 computers, causing at least US$700,000 in damage -- the largest-ever attack on the US government's computer networks, US government attorneys told a British court.
Court records in Virginia allege that McKinnon caused up to US$900,000 in damage to computers, including those of private companies, in 14 states.
McKinnon, an unemployed computer system administrator who lives in London, has said he did not intend to cause damage, but was seeking evidence that the US is concealing the existence of UFOs.
But Judge Nicholas Evans said he left messages on one system protesting US foreign policy.
"US foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism," Evans quoted one such note as saying.
McKinnon was arrested in 2002. He opposed extradition, claiming he could face prosecution under US anti-terror laws.
He is accused of hacking into US government computers including a system at the Pentagon between February 2001 and March 2002.
He allegedly accessed a network of 300 computers at the Earle Naval Weapons Station in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and stole 950 passwords.
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