How could Abbott defend him?

Outcry after Corbyn ally ‘dismisses Assange sex claims’

LABOUR was facing a backlash yesterday after Diane Abbott appeared to dismiss the ordeal of women allegedly sexually assaulted by Julian Assange.

Miss Abbott was accused of downplaying the serious claims against the WikiLeaks founder, who was dragged from his Ecuadorian embassy bolthole by eight policemen on Thursday.

Last night, it emerged more than 70 MPs and peers have written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Miss Abbott, urging them to ‘champion’ the possibility of Assange being extradited to Sweden – where the alleged assaults happened – if authorities there request it.

Assange had been in hiding in the embassy for seven years after skipping bail in 2012 to dodge being extradited over the allegations he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another in 2010.

But Miss Abbott and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn have leapt to his defence, calling his arrest politically motivated. They were yesterday accused of sacrificing justice for women, with a string of the party’s own MPs condemning their stance. In a BBC interview, Shadow Home Secretary Miss Abbott said of his arrest: ‘We all know what this is about – it’s not the rape charges.’ She insisted he had only been hauled out of his the knightsbridge embassy because he had embarrassed the American military, saying: ‘It’s all about WikiLeaks.’

But a friend of the Swedish woman who claims Assange sexually assaulted her said last night: ‘It really is not “all about WikiLeaks”.’ The friend added: ‘She says it is about him treating people like s***, especially women.’

Critics queued up to accuse Miss Abbott of ‘ignoring allegations of sexual violence’ and even a Labour shadow minister branded her intervention ‘disgraceful’.

The Swedish woman’s friend told the Mail that treating Assange as a political victim was ‘ not helping the cause – no matter how important’. She suggested Miss Abbott was helping him whitewash the claims against him, saying: ‘He has, all the time, wanted to draw attention away from his own failures and has used the importance of WikiLeaks to wash his own name.’

Hillary Clinton last night vowed Assange ‘will answer for what he’s done’ as the US prepares espionage charges and a Swedish software developer allegedly linked to WikiLeaks, Ola Bini, was arrested in Ecuador. But Assange’s mother branded Uk ministers ‘totalitarian thugs’. Assange, 47, denies raping one woman – known only as Miss W – and sexually assaulting another, known as Miss A. Because he spent so long absconding from justice, the sexual assault allegation was dropped in 2017 because of legal time limits.

However, the rape allegation can be reopened any time before August next year, and Swedish prosecutors are now deciding whether to renew Assange’s extradition request.

Australia-born Assange is being held at Belmarsh high- security prison in southeast London, which has housed some of the country’s most notorious inmates including hate preacher Abu Hamza and black-cab rapist John Worboys.

He also faces an extradition request from the US over a computer hacking charge. Prosecutors could also add further charges relating to WikiLeaks publishing American government dossiers exposing alleged Iraq war crimes.

The Guardian reported that in a letter co- ordinated by Labour’s Stella Creasy and Jess Phillips, MPs have called on Mr Javid and Miss Abbott to ‘champion action’ to ensure that extradition is a possibility should Swedish authorities choose to pursue it. It is thought it falls to the Home Secretary to determine which extradition request goes first – Sweden’s or America’s – in the event of competing requests.

On Thursday, Mr Corbyn had tweeted: ‘The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British Government.’

Yesterday Miss Abbott was asked

‘He has absconded from justice’

three times about the sexual offence claims against Assange on BBC Radio 4. She repeatedly said ‘the charges were never brought’.

When it was pointed out that charges could not be brought, because Assange would not go back to Sweden, she said: ‘We all know what this is about. it’s not the rape charges, as serious as they are, it is about the WikiLeaks and all of that embarrassing information about the activities of the American military and security services that was made public.’

it triggered a storm of protest. Vicky Atkins, the minister for women, said: ‘Diane Abbott’s dismissal of rape charges speaks volumes about Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.’

Minister James Cleverly said: ‘So in Diane Abbott’s opinion, does the sisterhood only matter if it doesn’t cut across her political worldview? is the message to victims of sexual violence “you will be believed, unless it involves a left wing icon”?’

Even a Labour shadow minister admitted: ‘Championing Julian Assange is the last thing we should be doing. it is disgraceful. Jeremy and Diane seem to have a blind spot.’ Miriam Mirwitch, the national chair of Young Labour, said she was ‘pretty aghast that we seem to be celebrating Assange’. Miss Abbott tried to limit the damage last night with a tweet saying: ‘Assange skipping bail in UK, or any rape charge that may be brought by Swedish authorities shouldn’t be ignored. But the only extradition request is from the US, because he’s a whistleblower on atrocities caused by US military ops.

‘This extradition would be wrong so we oppose it.’ Experts in Sweden doubt whether he will ever face trial there, because of the passage of time. But the alleged rape victim’s lawyer vowed she would do ‘everything we possibly can’ to get the investigation reopened.

A WikiLeaks spokesman said of Assange: ‘He faces life in prison for the “crime” of publishing truthful information.’