Home Secretary Amber Rudd has signed an order authorising the extradition of alleged computer hacker Lauri Love.

Here are answers the key questions surrounding Mr Love’s battle against extradition and Mrs Rudd’s role in the process.

Why is the Home Secretary involved in the extradition of Mr Love?

At an extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Nina Tempia considered issues raised by Mr Love’s defence, including prison conditions in the United States, his health and the forum bar.

District Judge Tempia ruled there were no statutory bars to extradition and said Mr Love could be extradited.

Mrs Rudd had two months to order or block extradition following the ruling on September 16. This is normal procedure in extradition cases.

What is the forum bar?

The forum bar was introduced by former home secretary Theresa May to allow courts to block an extradition when it is considered a substantial amount of the person’s conduct was performed in the UK and it is in the interests of justice for them to do so.

But the Home Secretary has no power to bar extradition under forum rules.

What did the home secretary have to consider before ordering extradition?

Under the Extradition Act 2003, the Home Secretary can only consider four legal issues when deciding whether to block a person’s extradition, the Home Office said.

These are: whether the person concerned is at risk of the death penalty; the arrangements in place between the two countries; whether the person has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country is required for onward extradition; and whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.

What decision did Mrs Rudd come to?

Mrs Rudd considered the four issues did not apply in Mr Love’s case and ordered his extradition.

Mr Love is not facing the death penalty and has not been subject to an earlier extradition to the UK or a transfer by the International Criminal Court, the Home Office said.

It added that the UK-US extradition treaty contains arrangements which ensure that an extradited person can only be tried for the offences for which the extradition is ordered.

What about Mr Love’s human rights and health issues?

The Extradition Act 2003 was amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and removed the Home Secretary’s ability to consider human rights issues.

This followed a review on extradition led by Sir Scott Baker, which recommended the judiciary deal with human rights matters.

What will happen next for Mr Love?

Mr Love has 14 days from the date the extradition order is served to lodge an application for permission to appeal against the decision.

He has previously indicated that he will continue to fight his extradition and take his battle to the High Court.

Source: Press Association.