London: The British government will not use the election result in Ecuador to renew efforts to evict Julian Assange from his Knightsbridge bolthole, Fairfax Media has learnt.
Instead it is relying on Sweden and Ecuador to persuade the Wikileaks editor to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has stayed under asylum for four and a half years.
In a pre-election interview, presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso said he would "cordially ask senor Assange to leave within 30 days of assuming a mandate" because of the cost of keeping him there, apparently indefinitely.
Pending a recount, it appears Lasso's opponent Lenin Moreno won the poll. Moreno backed the Australian's continued asylum.
However Moreno had a warning for Assange, saying his government "will always be alert and ask Mr Assange to show respect in his declarations regarding our brotherly and friendly countries".
Ecuador cut Assange's in-house internet access last year during the US elections, after Wikileaks' string of publications of hacked documents benefiting the Trump campaign.
Assange initially taunted Lasso over his loss, tweeting "I cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days (with or without his tax haven millions)".
He later clarified that this was a joke (referring to allegations over tax haven funds), saying he wished Lasso "the best".
Assange's legal team has objected strongly to the politicisation of their client's ongoing need for refuge. They reportedly had a contingency plan in place should Lasso win, including potential avenues for appeal against any attempted eviction.
On Monday Fairfax Media asked if the British Prime Minister Theresa May planned a new push to evict Assange after the Ecuador result. A spokesman for Mrs May referred the question to the Foreign Office.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "This is an issue for Sweden and Ecuador. We encourage both countries to find a solution to the situation involving Julian Assange".
Swedish prosecutors interviewed Assange at the embassy late last year, and they are now reviewing the transcript to determine whether to continue their investigation of a rape allegation from 2010 against him.
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