The Extradition Act under which British subject and Asperger’s syndrome sufferer Gary McKinnon faces being sent for trial in the US for computer hacking is not biased against British citizens, a landmark review has concluded.

The review, published today by parliament’s human rights joint committee and conducted by retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Scott Baker, concludes that the act is ‘completely balanced and works fairly’. There is no need for the secretary of state to take an increased role in the ’surrender of persons to non-EU countries’, the review states.

However, the review suggests that in relation to the UK-US extradition treaty, the government should look to raise the level of proof required when extraditing a person to the US to the same level required when extraditing a person from the US to the UK. That would be sufficient evidence to establish probable cause, the review states.

The committee also ruled against the introduction of a so-called ‘appropriate forum bar’, which would mean a suspect would normally be tried in the country where the bulk of their crimes were committed.

In McKinnon’s case, that would be the UK, because he searched NASA computers for evidence of ‘little green men’ from his North London home.

However, the review’s author rejected this option, saying: 'We have no evidence that any injustice is being caused by the present arrangements.’

Human rights group Liberty angrily rejected the review’s findings, pointing out that both coalition party leaders strongly criticised extradition laws in opposition. In 2009, the now deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said that the extradition of Gary McKinnon would amount to ‘a travesty of justice’. As leader of the opposition David Cameron said that the possibility that McKinnon could be extradited raised ‘serious questions about the workings of the Extradition Act’.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: ‘We don't just disagree with this review but are completely baffled by it. This is not a court judgment merely policy advice and government cannot abdicate its responsibility to honour the promises of both coalition parties in opposition.

'Britain's rotten extradition system stinks of human rights abuse and rank hypocrisy. It's time we stopped parcelling people off around the world like excess baggage and remembered the duty of all governments to protect their people and treat them fairly.’