ASSANGE’S EMBASSY AFFAIR

TO THE outside world he was a fugitive from justice, living off the charity of the Ecuadorian embassy for seven years with only a cat for company.

And when disgraced Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was eventually arrested last year the sight of the office-cum-bedroom he’d been living in was shocking. His quarters were filthy, smeared with excrement in parts. Rotten food clogged his fridge and dirty dishes spilled out of the sink.

Assange (48) himself was dishevelled and wild-eyed as he was led away by authorities. He’d been desperate to avoid extradition to the US, where he faced espionage charges over the leaking of thousands of classified US intelligence documents. He