Julian Assange has accused Harrods of secretly helping police to spy on him in his embassy hideout.

The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy opposite the department store for three years.

In an interview, he claimed that Scotland Yard had developed a ‘relationship’ with Harrods, adding: ‘We have obtained documents from Harrods [saying that] police have people stationed 24 hours a day in some of the opposing buildings Harrods controls.’

Julian Assange, pictured in August 2012 on the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy, has accused Harrods of secretly helping police to spy on him in his embassy hideout

The 44-year-old, who also fears he is being bugged, has lived at the embassy in London’s Knightsbridge since Ecuador gave him asylum in 2012.

The British Government wants to extradite him to Sweden under a European Arrest Warrant where he faces questioning over an allegation of rape made by a woman he met during a visit to the country in 2010.

No charges have been brought because he has not been interrogated by police. Prosecutors have run out of time to investigate Mr Assange on separate allegations of sexual assault.

Mr Assange says if he is sent to Sweden he will be extradited to the US, where he could face 35 years in prison for publishing classified documents related to US activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy opposite the department store (stock image above) for three years

Metropolitan police officers are stationed outside the embassy round the clock, with orders to arrest him if he tries to leave.

The bill for the operation has exceeded £11 million, but Assange’s new claim, if true, would suggest that the figure is significantly higher.

Mr Assange also told The Times magazine about his fears that he could be ‘droned’ by the CIA if he is ever free.

A Harrods spokeswoman said: 'The Met Police asked us to use bathroom facilities and a stairwell in a building we own, and we were happy to oblige.'