British Foreign Minister William Hague said Thursday that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange would not be allowed safe passage out of Britain to reach Ecuador.
"We will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the United Kingdom, nor is there any legal basis for us to do so," Hague said at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
It was a "matter of regret" that Ecuador had decided to grant Assange asylum, but that did not change the fact that Britain would be "fulfilling our obligations under the Extradition Act to Sweden," Hague added.
He denied that Britain had threatened to storm the Ecuadorean embassy, as well as claims that there were arrangements in place for Assange to be extradited to the United States.