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Julian Assange toasted his freedom with the Mirror and a Martini last night and declared: "It's so great to be out."

Less than an hour after his jail release, the WikiLeaks founder hotfooted it to a members-only club where we were holding our Christmas party.

The barman already knew what he wanted and had a large James Bond-style dry Martini with two olives waiting.

Asked how his first drink tasted after spending nine days in jail, the Australian whistleblower, 39, joked: "Smooth. I've been waiting for this for a week! Freedom tastes good."

He added: "I've been in a black hole for a week. I have had no access to newspapers but the guards and prisoners have been really supportive.

"I was kept in solitary confinement which wasn't my choice, so I guess it was at the request of the authorities.

"I am surprised that the CPS wanted to keep me inside. It is very unusual.

"I have got enough anger to last 100 years. I have been through hell.

"It's so great to be out. The prison was dark and Victorian."

Assange - who has warned he has a lot more sensational information to release from WikiLeaks - said he would be spending Christmas in the UK and celebrating his freedom with his supporters.

He joked: "Bail isn't so bad spending it in a mansion with friends in the country!" Just an hour before he hit the Frontline Club in West London, the whistleblower was dramatically released from jail after a bid to keep him inside ended in embarrassment for David Cameron's government.

Assange had been locked up ahead of moves to extradite him to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

But it yesterday emerged it was our Crown Prosecution Service and not Swedish authorities who opposed his bail after Mr Cameron was apparently pressurised by the US. American leaders are seething over WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of sensitive diplomatic cables - details of which have appeared around the world.

Karin Rosander, director of Sweden's prosecutor's office, confirmed they had nothing to do with the decision to appeal against the granting of Assange's bail on Tuesday, saying: "The decision was made by the British prosecutor.

"I got it confirmed by the CPS this morning. The Swedish prosecutors are not entitled to make decisions in Britain."

Yesterday the High Court rejected an appeal against a lower court's decision to release Assange on strict conditions.

Mr Justice Duncan Ouseley said he was a "well known face" who would want to clear his name or "the allegations would always be hanging over him".

The judge also referred to Assange's continued contact with the Met Police, adding: "That is not the conduct of a person who is seeking to evade justice."

Assange will now spend Christmas at a 600-acre Suffolk estate owned by former Army captain Vaughan Smith.

He must also report to police daily and wear an electronic tag.

The Aussie was delighted and gave a rare thumbs-up to British justice as he vowed to clear his name. He said: "If justice is not always an outcome, at least it is not dead yet."

Assange claims the sex allegations against him are politically motivated and designed to take attention away from secret material appearing on the WikiLeaks site. He is accused of assaulting two women during a visit to Stockholm.

Cheers greeted the verdict outside court, where supporters waved placards and wore T-shirts bearing his face.

Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens said: "There are so many twists and turns in this case, it is impossible to say that this is the end of the line."

Mr Stephens praised high-profile supporters including Jemima Khan, Bianca Jagger and Ken Loach who helped towards the £200,000 bond.

Assange claims WikiLeaks has cables showing US ambassadors were tasked to "steal the DNA" of human rights leaders. And he last night revealed the US was trying to work out how to extradite him to America - calling it a "clear abuse of process".

The CPS last night said: "We did take the decision to oppose bail without consulting Swedish authorities, but that is standard practice.

"The reality is we take the bail decision for every case of this type, even though it is the Crown acting on Sweden's behalf in securing the extradition." A full extradition hearing is due in February.

Assange .. long trail of intrigue

December 2006: WikiLeaks launched by Australian journalist Julian Assange. APRIL 5, 2010: The site releases a video showing a US helicopter attack in 2007 that kills a dozen people in Baghdad.

June 7: US Army Specialist Bradley Manning is arrested in connection with the video leak.

July 25: 91,000 documents, most of which are secret US military reports about Afghanistan, are revealed.

October 22: 400,000 classified US military files chronicling the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009 go online.

November 18: Swedish court orders Assange's arrest after allegations of sexual assault.

November 28: WikiLeaks begins releasing 250,000 US embassy cables.

November 30: Assange's lawyers lodge an appeal against an arrest order with Sweden's High Court.

December 3: WikiLeaks website crashes during cyber attacks.

December 4: PayPal suspends WikiLeaks account, and is followed by Mastercard and Visa.

December 7: Assange is arrested by British police on a European warrant issued by Sweden and held in jail.

December 14: A British judge grants bail of £200,000 but prosecutors appeal and he remains in custody.

December 16: Assange walks free after the High Court in London upholds the decision and he posts bail.