Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Home Office last night to demonstrate against the extradition of Julian Assange, with appearances from fashion designer Vivian Westwood and rapper MIA.

British-Sri Lankan singer, MIA, performed at the event against the extradition of the WikiLeaks founder who is facing a hearing to decide if he will be sent to the United States to face espionage charges.

The 'Don't Extradite Assange' march began at 6pm outside the Home Office in central London on Tuesday night.

Dame Vivienne Westwood spoke to the crowd, surrounded by banners and wearing a Julian Assange mask of her own creation.

MIA then performed a alongside British-Iraqi rapper Lowkey while wearing a bridal veil and black leather gloves.

MIA performing at the Don't Extradite Assange protest event outside of The Home Office last night wearing a bridal veil

Dame Vivienne Westwood speaking surrounded by banners and wearing a Julian Assange mask of her own creation

She told the crowd: 'This is not about me, this is about Julian Assange. In this time of fake news, he shouldn't have been the person who pays the price.'

Tweeting about the event before the protest began, MIA wrote: 'Once Upon a time there were men with beards… B 4 the bearded guys there were someone else I can't remember / Now it's Russians / Later it could be u or me / I'm here for whatever sets truth free / Coz Jesus loves me. /Amen. C u tonight 6pm outside the home office.'

Author and anti-war activist John Reese from Stop the War Coalition also attended the even as did John Shipton, father of Assange.

Shipton spoke to the crowd as well as Westwood, as the crowd waved banners with 'Free Assange. The right to know' and 'Non-conflicted judge needed for Julian Assange extradition trial'.

Westwood told the crowd she was 'a freedom fighter' there 'to protest against government corruption and the death of justice',

'Julian Assange will die unless we set him free', she added.

Members of the crowd at the Dont Extradite Assange protest demanded the WikiLeaks founder be released

British rapper and long-time advocate of Assange, MIA, performed some of her hits at the demonstration last night

Assange had been living at the Ecuador embassy in London from 2012 until earlier this year when the Ecuadorian government suspended his citizenship.

He is currently in custody at Belmarsh Prison facing extradition to the US where he is charged with conspiring with former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer network in 2010.

The 48-year-old Australian published sensitive information about US bombing campaigns and detailing civilian deaths and cases of friendly fire in Afghanistan and Iraq that proved highly embarrassing to Washington.

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid signed an order in June allowing Assange to be extradited.

He was then jailed for 50 weeks in the UK after he jumped bail by going into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy and refusing to leave to appear in court.

The WikiLeaks founder was due to be released from Belmarsh on September 22 but was told at a court hearing last month that he would be kept in jail because of 'substantial grounds' for believing he would abscond.

John Shipton, father of Julian Assange during an interview during a protest. His son is facing 175 in a US jail if he is extradited and convicted on espionage charges

A woman in the crowd holding a banner saying 'Free Assange. The right to know' last night

When he appeared in court last month he seemed confused and has complained about the conditions in which he is being kept in prison.

Independent UN rights expert Nils Melzer said last week that 'unless the UK urgently changes course and alleviates his inhumane situation' it was putting his life 'at risk'.

His extradition hearing is set for late February next year and could be sentenced to up to 175 years if convicted of all charges.

MIA has long supported Assange, even visiting him in HMP Belmarsh last month saying she has been 'trying to send him yoga books for a month' and demanded he is released.

After Swedish prosecutors dropped a sexual assault investigation against him in 2017, she wrote a statement in his defence.

Swedish authorities reopened the investigation into one of the alleged rapes earlier this year.

The rapper also hosted a panel with Assange at Meltdown Festival and has previously contributed music to his TV show The World Tomorrow.]

MIA also had Assange appear via Skype to open one of her concerts in New York.