This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34508500
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Police stop guarding embassy refuge of Julian Assange | Police stop guarding embassy refuge of Julian Assange |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A permanent police presence has been withdrawn from the Ecuadorean embassy in London where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has sought refuge since 2012, the Met Police has said. | |
| Officers had been outside the embassy since Mr Assange sought asylum there to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape allegation, which he denies. | |
| The estimated cost of the police presence is more than £12m. | The estimated cost of the police presence is more than £12m. |
| The Met said the permanent presence was "no longer proportionate". | The Met said the permanent presence was "no longer proportionate". |
| 'Overt and covert' | |
| It also said that "resources are finite" and there were "so many different criminal, and other, threats to the city". | |
| "The Metropolitan Police Service has to balance the interests of justice in this case with the ongoing risks to the safety of Londoners and all those we protect, investigating crime and arresting offenders wanted for serious offences, in deciding what a proportionate response is," it added. | |
| However the force also said it would be deploying "a number of overt and covert tactics to arrest him". | |
| The Australian sought asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden, because he feared he would then be sent to the US and put on trial for releasing secret US documents. | |
| The UK has paid for policing around the embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, for the past three years. | |
| Mr Assange was granted political asylum by Ecuador under the 1951 Refugee Convention in 2012. | |
| Swedish officials said recently they were optimistic about reaching an agreement with Ecuador which could pave the way for the questioning of Mr Assange in London on outstanding accusations against him. | |
| Last month, prosecutors dropped cases of alleged sexual misconduct against the 44-year-old but say they want to question him about accusations of rape, made after his visit to the country five years ago. | |
| Assange assault claims: Key dates: | |
| Full timeline | |
| Julian Assange profile |