FORMER Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a personal bid for the United States of America to drops its extradition demands for computer hacker Gary McKinnon, it has been revealed.

In a cable publicly exposed by website Wikileaks, the Labour PM tried to broker a deal for Mr McKinnon to admit hacking into US computer systems in 2001 and 2002 in exchange for him serving any prison sentence in the UK.

However, the secret papers reveal Mr Brown's efforts, made in August last year, were rebuffed by the Obama administration.

The cable, released as part of a mass leak of messages sent between American diplomats, was part of a briefing for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in October last year, warning her Mr Brown was “likely” to raise Mr McKinnon's case again.

It said: “In August, PM Brown, in a one-on-one meeting with the Ambassador, proposed a deal: that McKinnon plead guilty, make a statement of contrition, but serve any sentence of incarceration in the UK.

“Brown cited deep public concern that McKinnon, with his medical condition, would commit suicide or suffer injury in imprisoned in a US Facility.”

The case of Mr McKinnon has become a high-profile cause used to highlight disparities in the UK-US extradition treaty.

The 44-year-old suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, and has claimed throughout he hacked into the computers system to look for evidence of UFOs while living in Crouch End.

US officials have long demanded he be extradited to face a trial for hacking into dozens of defence and military computer systems, causing $700,000 of damage, and if convicted could face up to 60 years in prison.

The cable, from US ambassador to the UK Louis Susman, noted Mr McKinnon's “enormous popular sympathy” in Britain, as well as highlighting the criticism that has been leveled against the treaty.

MPs are today examining the extradition treaty in a wide-ranging review of UK arrangements, hearing evidence from Mr McKinnon's mother Janis Sharp as well as from former Home Secretary David Blunkett, Jago Russell from Fair Trials International and Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti.