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FCO 'still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution' on Assange extradition

The Foreign Office has issued a statement on claims from the Ecuadorian foreign minister that it threatened to arrest Wikileaks founder Julian Assange inside its embassy:

We have consistently made our position clear in our discussions with the government of Ecuador.

The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we are remain determined to fulfil this obligation.

We have an obligation to extradite Mr Assange and it is only right that we give Ecuador the full picture.

Throughout this process have we have drawn the Ecuadorians' attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or to the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK.

We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.