Assange 'is no hero': British foreign minister

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange "is no hero", British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday following his arrest at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

"What is not acceptable is for someone to escape facing justice and he had tried to do that for a very long time and that is why he is no hero," Hunt said in a statement.

"He has hidden from the truth for years and years and it is right that his future should be decided in the British judicial system," he added.

Assange had been living at Ecuador's embassy in London's plush Knightsbridge district since 2012 when he sought refuge there after being accused of sexual assault in Sweden.

The Metropolitan Police said it arrested Assange for breaching his bail conditions dating back to that period, and that he is also being held over an extradition request from the United States.

There he potentially faces a far more serious case linked to the publication of classified US defence material.

Hunt hailed his arrested as "the result of ...