today at five — the wikileaks founderjulian assange found guilty of breaching his bail, now he faces extradition to the united states. dramatic scenes this morning as he was taken from the ecuadorian embassy where hed been holed up for almost 7 years. outside court in the last hour, his lawyer said his possible extradition to the united states threatened journalism around the world. this precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the united states for having published truthful information about the united states. we'll have all the latest from westminster magistrates‘ court and the reaction from the united states to his arrest. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. theresa may tells mps the government still intends to leave the eu by 31st may,

despite being given a six—month extension until the end of october. our participation in the parliamentary elections remains a decision for this house. as the president said, course of action will be entirely in the uk's hands. the second extension in the space of a fortnight represents not only a diplomatic failure but another milestone in the government's mishandling of the entire brexit process. jack shepherd — the man who killed a woman in a speedboat crash — is jailed for an extra six months for fleeing the country a woman being held in dubai after allegedly calling her ex—husband's new wife a "horse" will be allowed to go home

its five o'clock — our top story, the wikileaks founderjulian assange has been arrested by police in london, after seven years holed up in the ecuadorian embassy. this afternoon he appeared at westminster magistrates court and was found guilty of failing to surrender to the court. he also faces us federal conspiracy charges related to one of the largest ever leaks of government secrets. lawyers speaking on behalf ofjulian assange said the charges against their client set a ‘dangerous precedent forjournalists around the world.‘ but the foreign secretary said no one is above the law and that mr assange is no hero. officers removed him this morning from the embassy where he sought refuge from extradition in 2012. ecuador‘s president said the country

had withrawn asylum from him after repeated violations of international conventions. a warning naomi grimley‘s report contains flashing images. blinking into the daylight, taken out of the ecuadorian infancy physically aged after being inside since 2012. the metropolitan police arrested him after being invited inside by the ecuadorian government shortly after ten a:m.. the foreign office said that two governments had worked together on the case to get to this stage. what we are showing todayis to this stage. what we are showing today is that no one is above the law and that he is no hero, he is hidden from the country for years and his future should be decided in the britishjudicial and his future should be decided in the british judicial system. but

and his future should be decided in the britishjudicial system. but his supporters are alarmed his asylum is 110w supporters are alarmed his asylum is now over and unsurprised, the us wa nts to now over and unsurprised, the us wants to extradite him for the original leaks. i have been with him in the police felt he must've thanked all of his supporters and he says i told you so. mr assange first came to prominence with the release of this video in 2010. it showed a us helicopter launching an air strike on a group of civilians, including two journalists. strike on a group of civilians, including twojournalists. his website then leaked hundreds of classified intelligence documents from the afghanistan and iraq wars, and then more leaks, this time classified diplomatic, causing red faces in washington. then a twist in this extraordinary story, assange found himself in a prison van after

being issued an arrest warrant, hoping to question him over allegations of sexual assault. he was bale up while awaiting extradition and he walked through the doors of the ecuadorian embassy, claiming political asylum. the uk government, to them he was, they we re government, to them he was, they were policing the embassy around the clock. in 2017, mrassange were policing the embassy around the clock. in 2017, mr assange appeared at the balcony, happy that the swedish investigation against him was dropped because prosecutors could not pursue the case in his absence. the relations between mr assange and his host badly soured with the new ecuadorian president described them as a stone in the shoe. but after today and i was after leaving the embassy, mr assange was found guilty by an englishjudge of assange was found guilty by an english judge of breaching assange was found guilty by an englishjudge of breaching his bail by failing to surrender to custody in 2012. we have also learned with

the us indictment alleges, it says that he engaged in the conspiracy with former intelligence analyst to assist in cracking a password on the us government computer. these charges relate to the accessing of computer systems, rather than the dissemination of secret documents, supporters however say it is still about press freedom. the case now moves to the question of free speech. assange published enormous amounts of information, not a week goes by where the material is mentioned in serious discussions in american policy. this is the picture ofa american policy. this is the picture of a defiant assange leaving court, the free—speech champion, or a national security risk, the debate goes on. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is at westminster magistrate‘s court.

bring us up—to—date with what happened in court. after seven years of assange sleeping in the embassy, occasionally appearing on the balcony, suddenly there he was in the dark caught but that rather straggly white beard in the report there and rather demonstrably reading a book about the national security state and brought to order by thejudge, security state and brought to order by the judge, and security state and brought to order by thejudge, and said to him that he faced two different sets of charges, one that was a failure to surrender to bail back injune of 2012 and the other was this new extradition warrant, so there was a brief discussion as to whether assange could give evidence but he refused about failing to surrender to bailand refused about failing to surrender to bail and then his lawyer started attacking thejudge in to bail and then his lawyer started attacking the judge in a to bail and then his lawyer started attacking thejudge in a previous court hearing, which the district

judge said that it was unacceptable inside of a packed press gallery to accuse the reputation of a district judge. they found him guilty of failing to surrender to bail and it said his behaviour was that of a narcissist. who cannot get beyond itself self—interest. he will be backin itself self—interest. he will be back in court on may the 2nd to deal with that extradition mourned. apologies for the sound quality on the line there at westminster. let‘s talk to our washington correspondent gary o‘donoghue. explain exactly why the us authorities want to get their hands on assange. this is in connection with chelsea manning whose intelligence officer published in lea ked intelligence officer published in leaked a lot of documents, classified documents, state department documents, connected to the campaigns, wikileaks was the platform for that and what they

allege here is that assange helped chelsea manning cracked into those department of defence computers, thatis department of defence computers, that is what they‘re focusing on. the reason is that the first amendment here means that there are certain protections for those who publish classified information, they‘re focused on that but assange, even though he is not a united states citizen, he comes into the country here, was prosecuted and gets the protection of the us constitution. are the political implications in all of this for donald trump in the white house?|j think donald trump in the white house?” think it is fascinating, bear in mind donald trump praised wikileaks dozens and dozens of times during the election campaign. i love wikileaks, he said, the special counsel has been investigating russian interference that says, they got those wikileaks documents, the ones from the democratic national

committee from the russians, who publish those. there‘s going to be a clamour on assange when he comes here to question him on the 2016 general election and he‘s got this difference between the white house, with donald trump saying i love wikileaks to the secretary of state who sees them as a hostile intelligence service. thank you very much indeed. let‘s go to norfolk now and speak to vaughan smith — journalist and friend ofjulian assange, who once provided him with refuge. thank you very much for being with us, you thank you very much for being with us, you saw thank you very much for being with us, you saw him just the other day when he was still in the embassy, what were you expecting it to end like this and this quickly? yes, i saw him last friday, i did not to end like this. i thoughtjulian assange would‘ve come out on his own accord, i think he was planning to. it was very depressing to see him

hollowed out the way he was. it is the image that our government and the image that our government and the american government wanted us to see of him. why is a depressing? the foreign secretary said no one is a above the law and that he is no hero, he has hidden from the truth from years and years, those are the words of the foreign secretary. look, i mean, actually respect our foreign secretary. i think he does ca re foreign secretary. i think he does care about journalism, foreign secretary. i think he does care aboutjournalism, but i disagree with him on this. when you say that julian‘s disagree with him on this. when you say thatjulian‘s hidden from the truth, he‘s been a purveyor of truth. if he was not a fugitive because of what he‘s done, he was a fugitive because he knows the retribution of the party will be savage and possibly endless. no, i think it is a very sad day to see julian assange hollowed out like that. he was given a diplomatic asylu m that. he was given a diplomatic asylum by the ecuadorians and they‘ve almost certainly been told that they broke international laws

by doing so. when he first took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy, he was facing an investigation by swedish police into serious sexual assault allegations. why did he just go and answer those allegations it he is an innocent man, why notjust going to face the music was yellow because he thought it would lead to him being extradited to the us and dave thought of as doubtful, turns out that he was right and the americans the secret indictment comes from eight years ago. and it‘s 110w comes from eight years ago. and it‘s now been polished up to be used. he was not running from sweden, he was running from the american retribution. in the sweetest thing also is quite interesting because the italian newspaper conducted an information search request with them and they were able to establish that

the prosecution service had been encouraging them not to prosecute some of the prosecutors are not prosecuting that should trigger some suspicion as to what was really going on. but he is still facing serious allegations that he could of got out of sweden to answer and when igoto got out of sweden to answer and when i go to the united states to answer the allegations against him there? it is not like the united states was a dictatorship, and as a respected judicial system. if he is innocent, why not just judicial system. if he is innocent, why notjust go there and prove his innocence? because there is an alternative view, america, it does have a history of trying to get their man and with the russians, and go to salisbury and try to kill people that annoy them. americans, wa nt to people that annoy them. americans, want to put them in jail. surely not an equivalence between the russians and the americans in that respect. no. there is, there‘s a pursuit of

vendetta, not just us. no. there is, there‘s a pursuit of vendetta, notjust us. the treatment of chelsea manning and she is in jail because she wouldn‘t testify, she‘s been injailforfour years. this indictment is been around for a while and julian was right, and barack obama while and julian was right, and ba rack obama chose while and julian was right, and barack obama chose not to deliver it however donald trump‘s administration is chosen to. i do think that this is a vendetta, this is really about revenge. it is also being said thatjulian assange and wikileaks had a role in the hacking of e—mails and the 2016 presidential election campaign that they were a useful way for the russians to manipulate the campaign. what do you say to that? i'm not really in a position to say too much about it, julian assange, i‘ve known him pretty well for about ten years, he doesn‘t seem to me like he is in the pocket of anybody and that is in

this understanding of his character. he is very much his own man. but we can‘t just disapprove of he is very much his own man. but we can‘tjust disapprove of truth because it dozen students. julian assange has pushed out truth through whistle—blowers. i really feel what happens to us if organisations like wikileaks are closed down or people likejulian wikileaks are closed down or people like julian are wikileaks are closed down or people likejulian are locked up for long terms. we do not know if he was involved in what they say, the americans will have to provide some evidence to prove that he assisted manning in this, i do not know anything about that. the judge called him a narcissist only cares about his own self—interest, you know him, loach said about that.” would not agree. thejudge does not know him either. i don‘t think really that‘s the role of district judges to start talking about people in that way and it was rather beyond

his, clearly thejudge has in that way and it was rather beyond his, clearly the judge has an opinion about the man and i don‘t think he is a narcissist and i don‘t think he is a narcissist and i don‘t think he‘s quite that it all. julian assange gets his bed thinking that what he is doing is in the public interest. as a society, if we cannot handle people like that and let them be in this way, then b will not have the benefits of the truth that he delivers and none of the stories that he has put out have been proven to be incorrect in the public does deserve to know the truth. the project says that in a free democracy that people have a right to information as to how their elite act and behave. thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. the headlines on bbc news. julian assange has been found guilty of breaching his bail, after british police arrested the wikilea ks founder, following seven years in the ecuadorian embassy. wikileaks editor calls today‘s events a ‘dark day forjournalism‘.

theresa may has told mps it‘s their national duty to approve a deal to leave the eu as soon as possible. european leaders have delayed brexit until the end of october while further attempts are made to break the deadlock. jack shepherd — the man who killed a woman in a speedboat crash — has been jailed for an extra six months for fleeing the country the masters is under way, the favourite to complete his grand slam at augustine national he has a few holes into his opening round. rugby australia and the new south wales union says they intend to terminate the contract after a social media post in which he said... and it is a composition that they could to qualify for the next years champions league, chelsea are prepared for the road believe quarterfinal.

the european union has agreed to delay brexit for another six months. the uk had been due to leave tomorrow, but after talks late into the night at a summit in brussels, eu leaders gave theresa may a flexible extension until the 31st of october — or earlier if mps do finally pass a brexit deal. it means the uk will now have to hold elections for the european parliament on may the 23rd, and if it doesn‘t, it will crash out of the eu on the 1st ofjune. donald tusk, the eu council president, said he had a message for his ‘british friends‘: ‘please do not waste this time‘. our political correspondent iain watson reports. she said as prime minister she wouldn‘t be prepared to delay brexit any further than the 30th ofjune. so today, she has to explain why she‘s accepted what some of her own mps see as the frightening prospect

of a delay that could last until halloween. statement, the prime minister. but the prime minister insisted that the uk could leave the eu well before october and without contesting next month‘s european parliamentary elections, so long as the house of commons, voted for a deal. if we were to pass a deal by the 22nd of may, we would not have to take part in european elections and when the eu has also ratified, will be able to leave we will be able to leave at 11pm on the 31st of may. in short, the date of our departure from the eu and our participation in the european parliamentary elections remains a decision for this house. as president tusk said last night, during this time, the course of action will be entirely in the uk's hands. it‘s the job of the leader of the opposition to oppose. so initially, that is whatjeremy corbyn did. the second extension in the space of a fortnight represents not only

a diplomatic failure, but is another milestone in the government's mishandling of the entire brexit process. but then he quickly proffered something of an olive branch when it came to current cross party talks. labour will continue to engage constructively in talks because we respect the results of the referendum and we are committed to defending jobs, industry and the living standards by delivering a close economic relationship with the european union and securing for frictionless trade with improved rights with improved rights and standards. labour wants a customs union with the eu, so is this a hint of compromise for theresa may? on a customs union i think there's actually more agreement in relation to the customs union than is often given credit for when the language, different languages used. but the prime minister‘s erstwhile allies. the dup, issued this warning. if she did it with labour votes then she would have to bring

forward implementation legislation for the withdrawal agreement, we would oppose that tooth and nail in the house of commons, we would recruit as many people behind the banner of the opposition to it. the trouble is the closer theresa may appears to be getting to labour, the more she seems to be hardening opposition to her leadership among some of her own mps. there‘s no formal mechanism to oust her as conservative leader until the end of the year, but there is talk at westminster about changing the rules so that the party can change direction. i think that if the eu saw a new leader who had got a fresh approach, who would be able to remake the british case in a different manner, it might see us moving forward. and in the commons, there were also calls for theresa may to go. this undermines democracy, the constitutional status of northern ireland, our right to govern ourselves, control over our laws and undermines our national interests. will she resign? but the snp leader says

something more radical than a change of conservative leader is required. i do think there's a new opportunity for brexit to be stopped, people have learned a lot in the last three years about the implications of brexit and the lack of planning that was done in some of the issues that need to be confronted, so that opportunity is there now and i think it should be seized with both hands. some brexiteers fear that the uk will never quite break free of the eu, and while our prime minister has avoided leaving with no deal this week, giving us support for a deal still seems some way off. we have just heard thatjeremy corbyn and the prime minister have had a short meeting in parliament this afternoon, let‘s get more on that straightaway. with me now is our chief political correspondent vicki young. sadly we do not know much about that meeting, they have been tight—lipped

about the meetings that been going on now. they have not met face—to—face in these meetings for a while. they been very much technical discussions, we have that cabinet ministers meeting with the opposite numbers as well and talk of progress being made and everyone entering it in good faith. but as for that elusive breakthrough, that does not seem to be there at the moment and i think there is a danger with this deadline now being moved to six and a half months away, but really that sense of urgency even though the prime minister talks about that, that sense of urgency seems to have dissipated a little bit. so the question is, how are mps in the government pointed use that extra time, they talked about not wasting that time but how are they going to use it i think from what you heard in that piece by ian, it is very clear that all the different groups of parliament think the extra time is going to give them time to pursue what they want, whether that is a no—deal brexit or another referendum, whether that is theresa may‘s deal, they still think that leaving with a deal and leaving as

soon leaving with a deal and leaving as soon as leaving with a deal and leaving as soon as possible is within the grasp of parliament, trying to say that it is not all over, does not mean we have to go to october, we can sort this out and avoid those european elections if you get behind the deal. she did talk about her plan b, so deal. she did talk about her plan b, so plan a is to try and get this compromise of the labour party and lots of people think that politics of that are just too complicated, too toxic really for both sides for anything that been there and her plan b is to still hold a series of votes to see if a compromise can be found. but i would need understanding in the agreement of labour to work out what options, what kind of voting system they use in order to get to some kind of agreement, so we will have to see after easter break whether mps come back with any kind of renewed vigour or if they have a different view of what is before them. thank you very much indeed. so where does this extension leave the uk? let‘s get the thoughts now of professor meg russell —

director of the constitution unit at university college london six more months, what you think will happen that time period? theresa may is going to have a go at getting the agreement, she wants to try to head off these elections and the talk of labour will continue. but i think, there‘s lots of talk now about what we can do with the six months and why the big questions from the constitution unit, because we issued a report on this a few months ago is that whether that would allow for the practicality of holding a referendum but the timetable that we‘ve got now because obviously many mps are quite keen on that, this big campaignfor mps are quite keen on that, this big campaign for outside parliament as well. hoarding referendum, because you need to legislate forward it and it takes a lot of planning, the electoral commission has been involved, takes about five months, so involved, takes about five months, so basically if mps undergo for a referendum, they should be going forward in the short term in order to get that done. but not a majority

of mps on the go for referendum. to get that done. but not a majority of mps on the go for referendumm is hard to see how they get there in time, by the same time there are various mps there suggesting the compromise that can be reached westminster is to support either theresa may steel or an alternative deal customs union, being approved and referendum to get the majority that could be a compromise. but another thing i think that‘s really interesting is that if these european elections go ahead, which i think, to be honest is likely, they could turn into a kind of referendum and all but name and that is happening injust and all but name and that is happening in just a few weeks‘ time on the 23rd of may. we are in a situation now with the country is very polarised along brexit lines, for many people, the research shows that their sense of identity with respect to brexit is much more important than the sins of party identity. we have nigel for roche was established his brexit party, we have the change uk people who are

running anti—brexit tickets, as there are two ways of being referendum. one is a formal one and the other one is one in effect coming down the line on the 23rd of may and it‘s time if it‘s that referendum that we are getting, that‘s really problematic for the two main priorities because they can be draining away. director of the constitution unit. thank you so much. with an extension to article 50 until the 31st october where does this leave the conservative leadership race and will the pressure on theresa may to step aside intensify? let‘s get the pressure on theresa may to step aside intensify? let‘s get the thoughts now of matthew goodwin — professor of politics at the university of kent — whojoins me now from westminster. so where does this leave the prime minister? is she in a stronger or wea ker minister? is she in a stronger or weaker position but that six month extension? you could argue that this extension? you could argue that this extension gives her a bit more room

for manoeuvre, that the pressure, at least in the short term, is often she can get to the stalks the labour party that are ongoing today. but from the perspective of the conservative party, theresa may coming back with yet another extension is an even more diminished figure, someone who is almost certainly now going to face a renewed attempt to have her stand down and make way for somebody else. you look at the surveys, you look at the opinion polls, for the first time now, more conservative voters are saying they would like prime minister made to resign and step aside than those who would like her to stay in office. i think the question is when and not if. but what is the mechanism if tori mps or some sort, how do they do it? they have already had a go, she‘s safe but because they had a go at the end

of last year. what is the mechanism? to that to change party rules? and theory, mrs mae is safe because she won that all—importa nt theory, mrs mae is safe because she won that all—important confidence vote and there are other avenues, a political party can apply very strong and formal pressure from the cabinet making it clear that she no longer has significant political authority from the cabinet or the parliamentary party and we are also hearing rumours that there is an attempt to change the conservative party constitution so as to try and ove rco m e party constitution so as to try and overcome that obstacle of the delay with the may having won the confidence motion. there is a bigger question which is the longer that this government and the situation carries on, the more damage this is all the doing to the conservative party brand and that is certainly something that is being voiced, to me and westminster, during my interviews with mp5.

me and westminster, during my interviews with mps. and in terms of who the party at large would like to see his leader, we talk about boris johnson, a lot is, is that still the case? to think he is to the from water? -- front runner. for conservative voters, there‘s absolutely no question that boris johnson is right up there as of the most popular options, but do not forget is ultimately the parliamentary party that decides which candidates make the final ballot and on one hand, people said to me, maybe the conservative party needs a bit more of a populace to fight offjeremy corbyn and to take a tougher stance of the european union, but on the other hand, there is another view of the conservative party that boris johnson is another view of the conservative party that borisjohnson might have won london twice in a row, bees become a little bit toxic and is not going to win back those groups of voters that we are seeing leaving the conservative party. middle—class

remainders 18 to 24—year—olds. whatever happens here, the conservative part does have a massive dilemma on how to replenish its electorate, how to rebuild the coalition. thank you so much, professor of politics. university of kent. that spring up to date with the latest onjulian assange. the wiki leaks the latest onjulian assange. the wiki lea ks found the latest onjulian assange. the wiki leaks found that he has appeared at westminster magistrate just with these pictures of him leaving in a prison van at the rear exit, we are told at westminster magistrate where he is found guilty of breaching his bail, not facing extradition to the united states and all of this after dramatic scenes early on at the ecuadorian embassy where he had been holed up for some seven where he had been holed up for some seve n years where he had been holed up for some seven years and the police went in this morning and arrested him after the ecuadorian authorities ended his asylum. this have a back, with lucy martin.

it isa this have a back, with lucy martin. it is a much quieter picture over the next few days, a fairly settled story, with this area of high pressure dominating the weather, we‘ve got a cool north—easterly flow ofairso we‘ve got a cool north—easterly flow of air so there will be a good deal of air so there will be a good deal of dry weather to come over the next few days, but feeling fairly chilly. this evening and overnight, a bit more cloud across north—eastern parts of scotland, perhaps take enough for one or two showers. feeding into central and southern parts of england, holding onto some clear spells and it is looking like a fairly chilly night. these are the temperatures in towns and cities. bit more cloud across north—eastern scotland, that could be thick enough for one or two showers tomorrow morning. there will be some sunny spells but there will be a bit more cloud than today. one or two showers in the south—east of england and north—east scotland. temperatures between 7—12dc. stay in chilly as we

move into the weekend, with further dry weather and some sunny spells, too. time now for the sport, with hugh woozencroft. golf‘s first major of the year in the men‘s calendar, the masters, is underway at augusta. northern ireland‘s rory mcilroy is the favourite for the green jacket this year. with thunderstorms forecast for the weekend, it could really change the dynamic. world number one justin rose plays alongside phil mickelson and justin thomas. there is an exciting final group as well with major winnersjordan exciting final group as well with major winners jordan spieth and brooks koepka playing alongside paul casey. this is how the early leaderboard looks. there are four players at the top on two under, tiger woods at level par after five

holes. rugby australia intends to sack one of its star players over a social media post in which he said, held awaits gay people. he is a devout christian and he made similar comments last year. here are the thoughts of the cardiff blues australia head coach. in 2019, the athletes have a job to do as role models in some areas, some of them don‘t want to be but at the end of the day, if you‘re going to put yourself out there on twitter and instagram and you have hundreds and thousands and millions of followers, you can affect things and you can have an effect on what people think or say. so ijust think it is really important going forward that eve ryo ne important going forward that everyone has an understanding of their responsibility to chelsea and arsenal are in europa league quarter—final first leg action tonight. one of them might need to win the competition to qualify for

the champions league next year, if they finish outside the top four in they finish outside the top four in the premier league. chelsea are a way to starve your pride later. arsenal seem to have the toughest test, posting napanee. —— away to slav your prog. and that is all the sport for now, you can find more on all of those stories including the latest from the masters on the bbc sport website. i will be back with more in sports day at half past six. let‘s ta ke more in sports day at half past six. let‘s take you back to the news that julian assange, the founder of wikileaks, has julian assange, the founder of wikilea ks, has been julian assange, the founder of wikileaks, has been arrested at the ecuadorian embassy in london. when he first took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy, he was facing an investigation by swedish police into serious sexual assault allegations. let‘s remind you about how this whole saga unfolded. mr assange is the founder

of wikileaks, which made headlines around the world when in april 2010, it released classified military documents, including footage showing us soldiers shooting dead civilians from a helicopter in iraq. in november of that year, a swedish prosecutor issued a european arrest warrant for assange over sexual assault allegations involving two swedish women. mr assange denied the claims. the following month, he turned himself in to police in london and was placed in custody pending a ruling on the swedish extradition request. this he was later released on bail. in february 2011, a britishjudge ruled that assange could be extradited to sweden. he said that he feared sweden would hand him over to us authorities, who could prosecute him for publishing the classified military documents, and injune 2012, he took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy in london. he requested, and was later granted, political asylum. in may 2017, swedish prosecutors closed their sexual assault investigation into assange, but british police said they would still arrest him if he left the embassy because he had breached the terms of his bail.

today, british police arrested assange at the embassy after his asylum was withdrawn by ecuador. this afternoon, he was brought before westminster magistrates and remanded into custody after being convicted of skipping bail. he now faces extradition to the us. earlier, julian assange‘s uk lawyer jennifer robinson and the editor in chief of wikileaks, kristinn hrafnsson, made this statement outside of westminster magistrates court. since 2010, we‘ve warned that julian assange would face prosecution and extradition to the united states for his publishing activities with wikileaks. unfortunately, today, we‘ve been proven right. mr assange was arrested this morning at about ten o‘clock at the ecuadorian embassy after the ambassador formally notified him that his asylum would be revoked. and he was arrested by british police. we‘ve today received a warrant and a provisional extradition

request from the united states alleging that he has conspired with chelsea manning in relation to the materials that were published by wikileaks in 2010. this sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in europe and elsewhere around the world. this precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the united states for having published truthful information about the united states. i‘ve just been with mr assange in the police cells. he wants to thank all of his supporters for their ongoing support and he said, "i told you so." well, the only the only thing to add to this is the fact that this is a dark day forjournalism. asjennifer said, this sets a precedent. we don't want this to go forward, this has to be averted. the uk government needs to make a full assurance that a journalist will never be extradited to the united states for publishing activity.

this pertains to publishing work nine years ago. publishing of documents, of videos, of killing of innocent civilians, exposure of war crimes. this isjournalism. it's called conspiracy — it's conspiracy to commit journalism. so, this has to end, and we urge everybody to support julian assange in fighting this extradition. thank you. with me is nick vamos, former head of special crime and head of extradition at the crown prosecution service. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. so, the united states want to extradite him, how smooth is that likely to be do you think? ? well, he will resist it like he has resisted every attempt to extradite him in the past and

resisted every attempt to extradite him in the pastand i‘m resisted every attempt to extradite him in the past and i‘m sure there area number of him in the past and i‘m sure there are a number of arguments that he will use and it will take many months. ultimately i do think he will be extradited because the charge that he faces is actually a straightforward one of conspiring to hack into us confidential computers to extra ct hack into us confidential computers to extract confidential, top—secret information. his supporters, you just heard them saying all he is guilty of isjournalism just heard them saying all he is guilty of is journalism and telling the truth, disseminating the truth? well, it‘s a good argument if he was charged with publishing information, because then he might have some kind of public interest defence. he can bring all those arguments to bear in the tradition hearing. but ultimately what he is charged with, the offence here in the uk in addition which is the unlawful extraction of top—secret information, is not something that even a journalist would be permitted to do. how long is this process likely to take, as a former head of extradition at the crown prosecution service, i‘m sure you know roughly

the answer, is this a very time—consuming process? the answer, is this a very time-consuming process? it certainly can be, within the uk i would expect all proceedings to be concluded within 12—18 all proceedings to be concluded within12—18 months even if it went to the supreme court, possibly longer. if he goes to the european court of human rights, then all dates are off, some cases can take many, dates are off, some cases can take any dates are off, some cases can take many, many years if they get stuck there. in the meantime, what is likely to happen to him, where will he be detained? he will almost certainly be sentenced to 12 months in prison for skipping bail, of which he will serve six. even if that six months came to an end, he will be remanded in custody throughout the extradition proceedings so his chances of getting bail are less than. and then he will be working with his legal tea m he will be working with his legal team to marshal all of his potential defences team to marshal all of his potential d efe nces to team to marshal all of his potential defences to the extradition case. what about the swedish authorities, initially they wanted to extradite him on those allegations of sexual assault, that was then dropped, is that likely to resurface, do you

think? that is the really interesting part of this, actually it‘s a real shame that there of charges against him never had the opportunity to be properly litigated in court. the idea that he was hiding in the ecuadorian embassy to escape extradition to the us always seemed to me to be a fiction, he was just trying to avoid going to sweden and he managed to wait that out. i do understand there is a potential charge which could be brought back by the swedish prosecutors, if they did that, then it is likely he would go to sweden first and the us afterwards. thank you very much for that insight. jack shepherd, the man who killed a woman in a speedboat crash on the thames, has been jailed for an extra six months forfleeing the country to avoid his trial. the 31—year—old was convicted in his absence of the manslaughter of charlotte brown, and last night he returned to britain after being extradited from the former soviet republic of georgia. kathryn stanczyszyn reports.

charlotte brown was killed when her first date with jack shepherd ended in a speed—boat crash and tragedy. in december 2015, shepherd‘s boat was found capsized on the thames. he had taken her out to try and impress her, but a trial heard he was drunk and the boat wasn‘t safe. he was found guilty of her manslaughter in his absence after fleeing the country last march. today, herfamily were in court to see a judge sentence him to six months for skipping bail, on top of the six years he was originally given for killing charlotte. they say they are relieved to finally be seeing justice done, but they‘re angry shepherd will now appeal his conviction. he‘s not shown any real remorse or accountability for his actions, this accusing charlie of being responsible for her own death, as recently as this week. his lack of respect and decency continues to astound us. we hope that shepherd‘s appeal against his conviction will be dismissed and as a family, we can continue to fight

for a change in the laws. after months on the run in georgia, jack shepherd handed himself in to authorities injanuary. following extradition proceedings, last night he was on a flight home. i am terribly sorry for my involvement in charlotte's death and furthermore, my subsequent actions, which i see have only served to make things worse. his legal team said he ran because he was overwhelmed and his actions were cowardly, not callous or cavalier. but charlotte‘s family say he‘d still be evading justice if it wasn‘t for the net closing in around him, and he‘s shown no understanding of the devastation he‘s caused. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. a british woman held in dubai over facebook posts calling her ex—husband‘s wife a horse is expected to return to the uk after she was fined.

laleh shahravesh was detained under strict cybercrime laws when she visited the country with her daughter three years after writing the posts. the 55—year—old was intially facing two years in jail. the detained in dubai campaign group welcomed the news, but says serious concerns remain over what it called "risks forforeigners in the united arab emirates". the headlines on bbc news... julian assange has been found guilty of breaching his bail after british police arrested the wikileaks founder following seven years in the ecuadorian embassy. the wikileaks editor calls today‘s events a dark day forjournalism. theresa may tells mps she wants britain to leave the european union as soon as possible, after the eu delays the uk‘s departure until the end of october. jack shepherd, the man who killed a woman in a speedboat crash, has been jailed for an extra six months for fleeing the country.

an update on the market numbers for you. here‘s how london and frankfurt ended the day. and in the united states, this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. let‘s return to brexit. theresa may has told mps it remains her "priority" to deliver brexit, defending the decision to delay the uk‘s exit from the eu by more than six months. today, the head of the international monetary fund, christine lagarde, said the further extension to article 50 will hinder growth in the uk economy, but welcomed the news the uk but welcomed the news that the uk will not leave the eu without a deal tomorrow. it gives time for continued discussions between the various parties involved in the uk. it probably gives time to the economic agents to better prepare for all options, and, you know, i‘m particularly

thinking of the industrialists and the workers in the uk, in order to try to secure their future. that gives a bit more time. on the other hand, it‘s obvious that it‘s continued uncertainty and it does not resolve, other than by postponing, what would have been a terrible outcome, because we believe that in terms of economic consequences, the no deal brexit would have been a terrible outcome. so, what does the brexit delay mean for british businesses? jenny tooth is with me, she‘s the ceo of uk business angels association, representing the uk‘s largest source of investment for startu ps and ea rly—stage businesses. thank you very much for being with us. thank you very much for being with us. how do you think business in

general and particularly start—up businesses regarded this six—month delay, is it going to welcome it or worry about it one tojohnny as you know, it is still one more long—term decision—making issue for businesses here in the uk. this has really delayed their planning. for my community, i really look after those early—stage great growth focused businesses, which business angels back around the country and many of them are really dependent on really certain outcomes so they can plan how to move forward and grow and innovate and really expand. and so, this further delay just innovate and really expand. and so, this further delayjust prevents that growth from happening here in the uk, it will really be holding many of those businesses back. some people might say, at least it is six months of stability, and they did not want to crash out with a no deal brexit tomorrow, so many might say at least it is better than that?” think that is probably so, it is a

six month period but then anything can happen along the way, as we know, if she gets approval, then it will be brought forward. so it is still a really uncertain time. also, my community, the investors who backed those businesses, they really depend on that stability is well, because they‘re putting their own money which they may have in stocks and shares and property behind those businesses, so we have to plan not just for the growth of those businesses but how they are going to continue to access that investment. and that particularly affects businesses outside london. at the moment about a 67% of the whole investment community is here in london, backing small businesses, but once you get out into the regions, you‘ve got much more impact of that uncertainty among those businesses, which have much less access to investment and also the impact ofa access to investment and also the impact of a lot of european money and the uncertainty around that is much greater in those regions. so, they don‘t like uncertainty, is it

possible to say what the people that you work with want in terms of brexit, whether they support it or not, we know the whole country is split, the political parties and the cabinet are split, what about the people you look after?” cabinet are split, what about the people you look after? i think probably slightly less split, i think for them, the whole single market was very, very helpful for many small businesses. there is a lwa ys many small businesses. there is always huge opportunities in times of uncertainty to grow and innovate and create new businesses, so for that it and create new businesses, so for thatitis and create new businesses, so for that it is also a great eight opportunity, but i don‘t think we can ignore the fact that for many, it is access to trade and trading opportunities and most importantly, access to talent, because as long as we don‘t have all of that about the free movement of people, then those businesses can‘t really expand and grow and that is really important for growing great businesses here in the uk.

joining me now from westminster are senior editor of the economist, are senior editor of the economist anne mcelvoy and the daily telegraph‘s deputy political editor, steven swinford. thank you both so much for being with us. well, she got six months, whether she wanted it or not, do you think that will help or hinder theresa may? well, it's a bit like looking for the goldilocks extension, is it to long, is it too short, or is itjust about right, to get any business done? if you look at it from the perspective that theresa may had when it looked like no deal was a possibility, it was very worrying, i think it could have brought her premiership to an end. well, that is off the table for the moment, so you lose that, or at least you still have the threat hanging over you but i think we now know that the appetite does not

really exist in the eu and it does not really exist at all in parliament. if you were to be a bit less optimistic on her part, you would say, there is now not enough time to hold a general election before october, but there is still time to hold a conservative leadership challenge. that is worrying her and that is why she keeps talking about june, worrying her and that is why she keeps talking aboutjune, i think she knows she is on borrowed time, the oxygen is running out and october, while it may seem a long way away, for the people behind us, leaving parliament today, they are going to go and stew over what they wa nt to going to go and stew over what they want to do with theresa may by the summer. want to do with theresa may by the summer. they are not going to wait until the autumn. we hear that theresa may and jeremy corbyn have had another meeting this afternoon... that's right. they have had a brief ten minute catch up on the progress of talks. and there are suggestions that they are doing slightly better than we thought, we will have to see where they end up and whether the conservatives can ever swing to a customs union and a

second referendum. ithink ever swing to a customs union and a second referendum. i think anne mcelvoy is right, the strategy from theresa may seems to be, send the mps away for 12 days on holiday and then they can come look, we can get this through the commons. in my experience it does not work like that, mps go away and they stew and they sit on what's happened they talk to the same people, eurosceptics will talk to eurosceptics, remainers will talk to remainers, and they come back even more hardened in their positions than when they went away, and we have got the added aspect of an imminent leadership contest, so you will have even more of that. lots of the candidates speaking to prospective supporters, potentially it isa prospective supporters, potentially it is a nightmare for her when she comes back. but anne mcelvoy, they might stew over the is to holidays but actually they don‘t have a mechanism by which they can get rid of her earlier than december, do they? they don't, technically you have to wait a year from the last

no—confidence motion in the conservative party. but i would point you to the old simon and garfunkel song, there are 50 ways to leave your lover. and if they want to find a way, particularly if the cabinet moves against her, notjust ministers peeling off, we have seen scores doing that. i think in the end it comes down to the fact that if the cabinet think there is any chance of theresa may... if she goes towards something like a customs union, maybe they will put up with it but it is more likely to split them than divide them and at some point they will have to decide whether she is just point they will have to decide whether she isjust going point they will have to decide whether she is just going to point they will have to decide whether she isjust going to be point they will have to decide whether she is just going to be this defiant figure who is there throughout all—weather a new face at the helm might be the thing to go for. so, what is your best guess, steven swinford, can the talks with labour bear any fruit and secondly, how long do you think she has got?” think she could surprise people, she is often referred to as the japanese knotweed prime minister, impossible

to get rid of. at the moment i don't detect the willingness in the cabinet. some people say she has to go by 23rd may, but they're not saying it publicly. on the other side of the cabinet, there are some who think she could sit it out until the end of october. we have got the european elections, if they go badly, what happens then, i mean, really badly, and local elections as well? it certainly puts her in a difficult position but we were asking on numerous today, will she actually campaign in those elections for the conservatives? we didn't get an answer, so we for the conservatives? we didn't get an answer, so we could be in elections that nobody wants, the tories don't even campaign on. it would be extraordinary and put her ina very would be extraordinary and put her in a very difficult position. but we have been here before and she still carries on and on so i would not bet on her staying here till the end of the extension. can you see a scenario where we get to halloween and then we just ask for another extension? i certainly can, this is something as someone said to me in brussels last night, is she running

down the clock again? yes, of course she is but she does have more clocks around! there must be some point, and it is impossible for us to put our finger on and it is impossible for us to put ourfinger on it, when itjust kinds of runs out and it is seen as no longer credible, not even by those who think that many alternatives are more risky. i also think the eu at some point would be putting much more pressure on. we know what they want, they want a second referendum, i wonder how long it will be before they turn around and say, pretty much you go general election or second referendum... and i would have thought by october, that might be the mood. steven swinford, do you think it is going to go all the way to october or beyond?” think it is going to go all the way to october or beyond? i think it could well do. one cabinet minister i spoke to today was despairing, thinking that the prospects for brexit are reseeding by the day and this extension only makes it worse, so this extension only makes it worse, so the mood is pretty bleak and miserable, the only hope for mps is that they are going on holiday so

let's hope that she has them up. i'm sure the prime minister won‘t thank you for that description of her as japanese knotweed but anyway,, thank you. coming let‘s take a look at the weather forecast. a settled day to day with some beautiful photos being sentin day with some beautiful photos being sent in by our weather watchers. there has been a good deal of sunshine, a bit more cloud in this photo sent in earlier. you can see some breaks in the cloud here and there, some blue sky in this photo sentin there, some blue sky in this photo sent in from leicestershire. we take a look at the pressure chart, you can see an area of high pressure dominating the weather, keeping things mostly dry and settled. we are pulling in this very cool air around the north—east, so it will be feeling fairly chilly as we move through the next few days, temperatures a little bit below average for the time of year. this

evening and overnight, a bit more cloud for north—east scotland. some patchy cloud rolling in across central and southern england and wales. some clear spells developing for northern ireland. temperatures, fairly chilly again. i think we could see temperatures dipping below freezing in a few spots. a patchy frost to start the day tomorrow. a good deal of sunny spells to be had across much of the country tomorrow, across much of the country tomorrow, a bit more cloud than today. a bit more sunshine feeding into eastern parts of england later in the afternoon, but temperatures not particularly warm. it remains chilly as we move into the weekend. there will be a good deal of dry weather to come and further spells of sunshine. the best of the sunshine i think will be on saturday. a chilly start on saturday again, some good

sunshine. risk of a sharp shower in east anglia, and it will turn chilly in the west. moving overnight saturday into sunday, not a great deal has changed, we‘ve still got high pressure in charge and we‘re still in the chilly air mass. sunday will be another chilly start to the day, still some good sunshine across much of scotland and england and wales. but a bit more cloud the further west you go. and with that, the risk of seeing one or two spots of showery rain. chilly again in the eastern.

the wikilea ks founder, julian assange, is arrested and appears in court, after ecuador removes his right to asylum in its london embassy. dramatic scenes, as police force him out of the building, which has been a refuge for seven years. outside court, his lawyer said they would fight extradition to the united states, where he‘s wanted for publishing state secrets. this sets a dangerous precedent for all media organisations and journalists in europe and elsewhere around the world. we‘ll be asking, what next for the man behind one of the biggest ever leaks of government material? also tonight: i know the whole country is intensely frustrated that this process to leave the european union has not still been completed. theresa may defends another extension to the brexit date — this time, october 31st. the labour leader is critical.