Assange attacks the ‘narcissistic’ Guardian

JULIAN Assange has launched a bitter attack on The Guardian, claiming it is guilty of ‘institutional narcissism’.

The Wikileaks website founder, who once worked with the newspaper, accused it of being hypocritical and leaving US traitor edward Snowden in the lurch after publishing classified material he stole.

Assange also claimed that the paper was far more interested in cashing in after being paid £460,000 for rights to a forthcoming film about the affair which is based on a book by Guardian journalist Luke Harding and will be directed by Oliver Stone.

In an article for Newsweek called How The Guardian Milked edward Snowden’s Story, Assange dismissed the book as ‘Hollywood bait’, adding: ‘The Guardian is a curiously inward-looking beast.

‘If any other institution tried to market its own experience of its own work nearly as persistently as The Guardian, it would surely be called out for institutional narcissism. But because The Guardian is an embarrassingly central institution within the moribund “left-of-center” wing of the UK establishment, everyone holds their tongue.’

Assange, who is currently holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex charges, added: ‘ edward Snowden was left in the lurch in Hong Kong by The Guardian, and WikiLeaks had to step in to make sure he was safe.

‘While WikiLeaks worked to find him a safe haven, The Guardian was already plotting to sell the film rights.’ ÷edward Snowden has given jihadists plotting attacks against Britain the upper hand, a counter-terror chief has warned.

Met Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said it was now easier for Islamists to avoid detection online since Snowden leaked secret techniques used by intelligence agencies to The Guardian.