Assange asylum costs Met £3m

The cost of a round-the-clock guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where Julian Assange sought asylum last June, has reached almost £3m, the Metropolitan Police have revealed.

Scotland Yard estimated £2.3m has been paid in “opportunity costs” to cover normal duties, and £600,000 on overtime.

An embassy spokesman said the Ecuadorian government was “concerned by the significant cost to the taxpayers” to police the embassy but added: “We believe this expenditure could be avoided if the UK government would provide the undertakings that the Ecuadorian government has sought that there will be no onward extradition of Julian Assange to the United States.”