Gary McKinnon extradition decision due in October

Gary McKinnon is wanted in the US after admitting hacking into US military computers

The home secretary will decide whether to order computer hacker Gary McKinnon's extradition to the US by mid-October, the High Court has heard.

Last week Mr McKinnon's mother said the 46-year-old "had no choice" but to refuse a medical test to see if he was fit to be extradited.

Mr McKinnon, from north London, admits hacking US military computers but says he was looking for evidence of UFOs.

If he is convicted in the US, he could face up to 60 years in jail.

The latest hearing has mainly been about the timescale of the case, BBC correspondent Daniel Boetcher said.

This is partly due to the amount of evidence that has to be considered, but also because Home Secretary Theresa May now had an "increased and all-consuming involvement in the Olympic Games", according to the barrister for the Home Office.

The court also heard that Mrs May wanted to make her decision when Parliament was sitting.

At an earlier hearing, judges were told she was "close" to making a decision.

Mrs May said she was "personally concerned" Mr McKinnon had not been examined by a Home Office-appointed medical assessor, to decide whether there was a risk of suicide if he was extradited.

But his family said the Home Office expert, Professor Thomas Fahy, had no experience in uncovering suicidal tendencies in Asperger's syndrome patients.

Mr McKinnon, who hacked into the US computers in 2002, has been fighting extradition since 2006.