Scotland Yard has arrest warrant for Assange: Reports

LONDON - British police have received a European warrant for the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, media reports said Monday.

However, a spokesman for Scotland Yard in London declined to confirm the receipt of a new arrest warrant for Assange, who is wanted for questioning in Sweden over sexual assault claims.

“We would not discuss the case until someone was arrested,” a Scotland Yard spokesman told DPA.

However, both the BBC and the Press Association (PA) quoted sources as saying that a fresh European arrest warrant had been issued by the authorities in Sweden and that it had reached the British authorities.

Solicitor Mark Stephens, who represents Assange, 39, said he would fight any move to extradite his client, who is reported to live in southeast England.

However, the arrival in Britain of an arrest warrant would mean that there is no longer any legal impediment to holding Assange and requiring him to appear before City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.

Stephens has described the accusations made against Assange as a “political stunt” orchestrated by Sweden — possibly at the behest of Washington.

WikiLeaks has been condemned by many governments for the ongoing publication of confidential US diplomatic cables which has caused consternation around the world.