The report then details conflicting accounts of what happened. According to the security guard's account, Assange was asked to stop messing with the embassy's systems and to leave the secure room, which he initially refused to do.

The guard alleges that Assange then punched over a computer monitor before grabbing him by the shirt. This led, according to the guard, to an altercation for a number of minutes that spilled out into the corridor.

Assange's account lays the blame on the security guard, who he claimed had accosted him.

A filmmaker who was present for the incident, the report notes, told embassy staff he did not see the beginning of the scuffle, but that Assange was "out of control" and very upset, and clearly wanted to be verbally offensive and to provoke a reaction.

Embassy staff, including the ambassador and two security officials described only as "Mr White" and "Mr Blue", had a meeting to discuss the incident the following day. In sections of the report marked as analysis and recommendations, the author notes that Assange — described as "Mr Guest" — knows "what the limits of his movements are inside the embassy".

The section continues by noting that "we cannot allow these incidents to be repeated, nor any further attacks against personnel who work for the embassy". The report acknowledges the stress Assange was under, due to both his confinement and the presence of "more than 20 British agents posted outside the building", and recommends further psychological support.

However, just a few months later a separate report notes a similar incident of seemingly erratic behaviour from the WikiLeaks chief shortly before dawn on 4 January 2013.

The report painstakingly notes Assange's movements from minute to minute – further evidence of how closely the Ecuadorians monitored "Mr Guest" – reporting that he seemed to wake at 6:05 that morning. Then, just five minutes later, the security guard heard a loud crash from Assange's room.

Assange came to the door, assuring the on-duty guard that everything was fine, but (according to the guard's account) seeming to try to block his view of the room's interior. A few minutes later, Assange left the room carrying his laptop into a nearby room designated as his bathroom, where he remained for a period of hours.

During this time, the memo continues, the guard was able to see inside Assange's bedroom, where a large, smashed bookshelf was strewn across the room. The guard took photographs of the room's condition.