Sweden drops rape investigation against Julian Assange

Assange spoke from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London

Case was dropped due to a lack of progress - prosecutors

Met Police: Assange still wanted in UK for jumping bail

Julian Assange has said he will remain inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London in order to avoid extradition to the United States, despite being told he no longer faces a sex investigation by the Swedish authorities.

The WikiLeaks founder hailed the decision to discontinue the seven-year case against him as an "important victory", but said the "proper war was just commencing", after the Metropolitan Police said he would still be arrested if he stepped outside.

Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy since June 2012 is wanted by the British authorities after breaching bail conditions five years ago.

Addressing a crowd from the embassy's balcony in central London, Assange accused the UK authorities of ignoring international laws on asylum, a position he described as "untenable".

He said: “We have today won an important victory, but the road is far from over. The proper war is just commencing."

“The claim that the UK has the right to arrest me for seeking asylum in a case where there have been no charges is simply untenable.

“My legal staff have contacted the UK authorities and we hope to engage in a dialogue about what is the best way forward.”

But a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police explained there was still an outstanding warrant for his arrest over the breach of bail conditions and therefore he would be detained if he ventured out of the diplomatic building.