Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs is 36 today.

 

I don't have a great interest in football but even I know that Gigg's has been an exemplary professional footballer who continues to perform at the highest level.

 

Giggs is the only player to have appeared in a Premiership game in each season since its creation and has also scored at least one goal in every season.

 

Ryan Giggs almost seems like a throwback to a different age when footballers were loyal to their club and tended to appear only on the tabloid sports pages.

 

He is now in the twilight of his career and I doubt if the modern professional game will see his like again.

 

To illustrate this, he used the current series between India & Sri Lanka to show how batsman friendly pitches were resulting in high scoring, sterile draws.

 

He made specific mention of the current match in Kanpur where India had run up a huge first innings score and there was every reason to believe Sri Lanka would do the same.

 

Inevitably, Sri Lanka's batting then collapsed twice and India recorded an overwhelming victory.

 

Atherton is actually quite right with the central thrust of his arguement but yet again the cricketing gods have delighted in making punditry a dangerous game to play.

I suppose the next question over the Gary McKinnon case is why has Alan Johnson set a 7 day limit for Mr McKinnon's lawyers to register a Judicial Review?

 

Normally up to 3 months is allowed.

 

To me, this looks as if Mr Johnson is trying to accelerate the legal process.

 

This will ensure that the case doesn't drag on until the election when, and lets be honest, there is a fair chance that a change of Government will see a new Home Secretary with more sympathy to Mr McKinnon.

 

Or perhaps a new Home Secretary who is prepared to stand up to America and defend British citizens..................

Dreadful news this evening that Home Secretary Alan Johnson has refused to halt the extradition of computer hacker and Aspergers sufferer Gary McKinnon to the USA.

 

I have previously commented on this case and after several months reflection my mind hasn't changed.

 

Johnson's decision drags the good name of the British Justice into the sewer.

 

To be honest this is exactly the decision I expected from Mr Johnson, the self styled "man of the people" - a man who has somehow managed to scramble up the trade union and political "greasy pole" to hold one of the great offices of state.

 

However, Johnson isn't the only politician complicit in facilitating this deeply disappointing decision.

 

Let's not forget the 74 cowardly Labour backbenchers who either voted with the Government or abstained in the recent US - UK extradition treaty debate having previously signed motions supporting Mr McKinnon.

 

Gary McKinnon now only has 2 avenues open to him to prevent his extradition - firstly a Judicial Review and secondly an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

 

I hope he is successful but I am not hopeful and I fear that this unfortunate man will come to great harm when (or perhaps if) the extradition proceeds.

 

There is considerable and informed legal advice that Alan Johnson could stop this extradition - indeed the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee said the move should be halted.

 

In the USA, today is the "Thanksgiving" holiday - there is a certain amount of irony (hopefully unintended but you never know) that Johnson's decision was announced today.

 

Mr McKinnon, his family, friends and supporters certainly have nothing to be thankful for this evening.

There is probably quite an inquest going on at Tory Party HQ today following Mr Cameron's faux pas at PMQ's yesterday.

 

I would imagine that there are some researchers who haven't done their career prospects much good..................