The Australian High Commission in London refused to comment on the visit, even to confirm it took place, referring all questions to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra – a clear sign the situation is still a diplomatic quagmire. But Barns said it was the second such visit - the first took place in June last year. He said this was a sign of a “more humane approach” from the Australian government. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in February 2016. Credit:AP The visit came a day before Assange received bad news from the US, where a federal judge refused to force the Justice Department to admit the existence of what are believed to be criminal charges laid against him in secret. Assange has been in the embassy, a small office in an apartment block behind Harrods in Knightsbridge, for more than six years. He entered on June 19, 2012, after exhausting his appeals against an extradition order to go to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault allegations.

Swedish authorities have since closed their investigation saying it couldn't continue without Assange's presence in their country. Greg Barns, a member of Julian Assange's legal team, said the consular visit took place recently. Credit:AAP However Assange still faces arrest by London police if he steps out of the Ecuadorian embassy for breach of his bail conditions, after failing in a bid last year to have the arrest warrant cancelled by an English court. Assange’s lawyers say he cannot leave the embassy due to the likelihood of being extradited to the US, where they say he would not receive a fair trial. Barns said they welcomed the visit by High Commission consular officials, who were briefed on Assange's medical issues and difficulties.

Loading “They have seen firsthand the untenable situation Julian is in,” he said. “His health is deteriorating yet he cannot get medical care for fear of arrest. We will be asking Senator Payne to seek undertakings from [the] UK that [Assange] can leave the embassy for healthcare without being arrested.” Barns said Assange was suffering chronic pain in one arm and needs dental work, neither of which can be treated inside the embassy. Assange’s health continues to decline, he said. On Wednesday, a US District Judge refused a request from WikiLeaks to force the Justice Department to reveal a secret criminal charge against Assange.

Loading The existence of the charge has long been rumoured and was all but confirmed by a mix-up in a Virginia court last year, when an otherwise unremarkable document filed by a government lawyer referred, out of context, to “the fact that Assange has been charged”. WikiLeaks claimed it was farcical for the government to continue to keep the charge secret, however Judge Leonie Brinkema sided with the Justice Department, which admitted it had made a mistake but said criminal charge documents must not be made public until an arrest was made. The judge said allowing access to judicial records “based on little more than speculation” amounted to a fishing expedition and would set a bad precedent. WikiLeaks called the ruling “ridiculous”.

Loading In a press released it said the Justice Department "separately confirms to each of The New York Times, AP and The Washington Post that Mr Assange has indeed been 'charged' [but] when it comes to facing accountability for its actions the government now says its lips are sealed". “That the judge has played along with this absurdity is further proof that Mr Assange cannot hope to receive a fair trial in the United States.” The Herald and The Age has contacted DFAT for more information about the consular visit. The UK’s Home Office declined to comment but pointed to Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan's statement in Parliament in June last year, in which he said Assange was in the embassy “of his own choice”.