Julian Assange: UK issues 'threat' to arrest Wikileaks founder

Ecuador has accused the UK of making a "threat" to enter its embassy in London to arrest Wikileaks' Julian Assange. Mr Assange took refuge at the embassy in June to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning over assault and rape claims, which he denies. Ecuador foreign minister Ricardo Patino also said a decision on the 41-year-old's bid for political asylum had been made and would be announced later. The Foreign Office said it could revoke the embassy's diplomatic status. In a statement issued as Mr Patino spoke, it said the UK had a "legal obligation" to extradite Mr Assange. The Wikileaks website published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments, particularly the US, in 2010, and Mr Assange says he fears Sweden will pass him on to the American authorities. A number of police officers are outside the Ecuadorian embassy, in Knightsbridge, where some of Mr Assange's supporters have gathered behind a police cordon. Demonstrators also protested outside the British embassy in Ecuador's capital. Images from Quito showed protesters holding signs saying "We are sovereign, not colonies" and a union jack being stepped on.

'Hostile act'

At a news conference in Quito on Wednesday, Mr Patino said a letter from the UK government was delivered through a British embassy official. "Today we received from the United Kingdom an express threat, in writing, that they might storm our Embassy in London if we don't hand over Julian Assange," he said. "Ecuador rejects in the most emphatic terms the explicit threat of the British official communication." He said such a threat was "improper of a democratic, civilised and rule abiding country". "If the measure announced in the British official communication is enacted, it will be interpreted by Ecuador as an unacceptable, unfriendly and hostile act and as an attempt against our sovereignty. It would force us to respond," he said. "We are not a British colony". A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK remained "determined" to fulfil its obligation to extradite Mr Assange. 

"Throughout this process we have drawn the Ecuadorians' attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or to the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK," the spokesman said. "We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution." Police have so far been unable to detain Mr Assange for breaching the terms of his bail as he is on diplomatic territory.

The law Britain has informed Ecuador it could use in the case is the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987. It allows the UK to revoke the diplomatic status of an embassy on UK soil, which would potentially allow police to enter the building to arrest Mr Assange.