This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Julian Assange said today his life and the lives of his colleagues at the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks are under threat.

Speaking to reporters outside Ellingham Hall, the Norfolk house at which he is staying following his release on bail from prison, Assange said: "There is a threat to my life. There is a threat to my staff. There are significant risks facing us."

Assange is wanted in Sweden, after he was accused of committing sex offences. He denies the allegations and his lawyers have accused the Swedish authorities of waging a "vendetta".

He was initially remanded in custody but freed from prison on Thursday after a judge granted bail pending a court ruling on extradition to Sweden.

Assange said: "The case in Sweden is a travesty. No person should be exposed to that type of investigation and persecution.

"I have seen a statement from one of the witnesses that she was bamboozled ... I have heard a rumour that one has withdrawn her statement."

Meanwhile, Bank of America has become the latest financial institution to refuse to handle payments for WikiLeaks.

The bank released a statement saying it will no longer process any transactions that it believes are intended for the site, which has released thousands of secret US diplomatic cables.

"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.

The action comes as WikiLeaks says it plans to release information about banks.

Other financial institutions, including MasterCard and PayPal, have also stopped handling payments for the site.

In response to the bank's announcement, WikiLeaks issued a message on Twitter urging its supporters to leave the bank.

"We ask that all people who love freedom close out their accounts at Bank of America," it said.

"Our advice is to place your funds somewhere safer," the organisation said in another post.

Assange told Forbes magazine last month that the data on banks would show "unethical practices".