Assange ultimately a deeply ambiguous hero for our times

Like him or loathe him, deporting Julian Assange to the US would threaten both our free press and liberal democracy

Julian Assange gives a thumbs-up from inside a police van after he was arrested by British authorities in the Ecuadorian embassy in London last week Pic: Reuters/Henry Nicholls

Since WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, he has cut a rather ridiculous figure: the refugee in Knighstbridge, with his celebrity friends sending hampers from Harrods, and his squabbles with the embassy about cleaning up after his cat.

Liberals dislike him for WikiLeaks’ role in the election of Trump; conservatives dislike him for Wikileaks’ role in revealing US army atrocities. And hanging over him throughout ...