The home secretary has signed an extradition warrant allowing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be extradited to the US, where he faces charges of conspiring to hack government computers and violating espionage law.
Sajid Javid announced yesterday that he had formally agreed to the request, which was received from the US justice department this week. “He [Assange] is rightly behind bars,” Mr Javid told the BBC. “There is an extradition request from the US that is before the courts tomorrow but yesterday I signed the extradition order and certified it and that will be going in front of the courts tomorrow.”
Westminster magistrates' court will hold an administrative hearing into Assange’s case today but has not yet set a date for a full extradition hearing, which could take place later this year.