Quintin Jardine's blog

Since the Julian Assange affair moved to Britain, I’ve been following the case as it has unfolded in our media. Until then I knew little about Wikiweaks, although, based on that sketchy knowledge I had an instinctive dislike, not necessarily of what it did, but of the way that it did it. Now I’ve read a little more about it, and him, I like both even less. Assange is a convicted computer hacker, and his life seems dedicated to invading the privacy of others; there seem to be no lines that he isn’t prepared to cross, and when I read that he’s been honoured for this by the likes of the Economist and Amnesty International, and by Sam Adams Associates, a group set up to celebrate whistle-blowing, I think less of those organisations. In my own small way, I have a right to privacy, and I believe that the Governments which I help to elect should have, in some very sensitive areas, that same basic right. Thirty years ago, I signed the Official Secrets Act, as I was required to to before taking up a government post. I respected that, and I still do. There are laws to protect me and to protect governments, and those who set out to break them should be brought to account. Bu that’s not the immediate issue, is it.

The crimes of which Assange is accused have nothing to do with Wikileaks, but they do involve an invasion of privacy in a real and physical sense. He’s accused of rape, and he is going to extraordinary lengths to avoid being sent to Sweden to be given the opportunity to clear his name. In my eyes all he’s done so far is demonstrate that he would be a worthy successor to Sepp Blatter. Through his legal team, he’s accused the prosecutor of sexism, he’s complained of trial by media (a classic coming from him) and now he has claimed that he would be denied justice if extradited. Well, Mr Assange, there are two women in  this issue who are looking for justice also, and if their rights require that you go back to face them, so be it.