UK News

Met Chief considering pulling the plug on £10m Assange operation

The UK’s most senior police chief says he is reviewing the operation to guard WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange because it is “sucking” their resources. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg last week revealed the cost of the surveillance operation outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London had reached around £10m. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told LBC radio: “We are reviewing the way forward there.” Mr Assange, who has been granted political asylum by Ecuador, has been living at the embassy since June 2012.

There is no doubt it’s a drain – we’ll look to see what other opportunities we have, how we can do that in the future. It’s sucking our resources. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe

Mr Assange is avoiding extradition to Sweden where he faces questions over claims of sexual assaults. Police officers guarding the building in Knightsbridge are under orders to arrest him if he leaves. The Australian came under intense scrutiny after WikiLeaks began releasing a selection of more than 250,000 classified US diplomatic cables passed to the whistle-blowing website in 2010. The 43-year-old fears that if he is sent to Sweden, he could also be extradited to the US to face charges for leaking the documents.