UK 'threatens' to raid Ecuador embassy over Assange

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159. No law or custom can prevent the UK from informing Ecuador

(say) that its ambassador and staff are persona non grata and that recognition of its embassy will be withdrawn in seven days; after the expulsion and withdrawal of embassy recognition, the UK would be quite free to enter the flat and arrest Assange

There are various reasons the UK does not want to do that

But the UK contemplates the possibility because Ecuador, contrary to diplomatic law and custom, is using its mission to obstruct the judgment of the UK courts and to interfere with the UK's ability to honor its obligations to Sweden

The general diplomatic community might have some sympathy for Ecuador's intervention, were Assange in instant danger in either the UK or Sweden. But in fact both are stable countries, governed by the rule of law; Assange has moved freely in both countries without incident, and he actually applied for residence in Sweden in 2010. So Ecuador has tossed a large cream pie into its own face, though no one will hurry to tell them as much