Foascii117nder of whistleblowing website marks six months&rsqascii117o; confinement in Ecascii117adorean embassy with bascii117llish speech

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Jascii117lian Assange has said that WikiLeaks is preparing to pascii117blish 1m new secret government do*****ents as he marked six months of refascii117ge in the Ecascii117adorean embassy in London with a speech from its balcony on Thascii117rsday.

The WikiLeaks foascii117nder has remained in the embassy to avoid arrest and extradition to Sweden on sascii117spicion of sexascii117al offences. There is a permanent police gascii117ard and Assange will be arrested if he leaves the premises.

Aboascii117t 80 sascii117pporters gathered on Thascii117rsday night to hear Assange speak. They carried candles and held placards reading, 'Don&rsqascii117o;t shoot the messenger' and 'Don&rsqascii117o;t trascii117st Sweden'. Some sang Christmas carols as they waited for Assange to speak from the first floor balcony, a short distance from Harrods department store. There were 60 additional police officers on dascii117ty.

Assange emerged with a raised fist and greeted the crowd: 'What a sight for sore eyes. People ask what gives me hope. The answer is right here.'

He was momentarily distascii117rbed when a joascii117rnalist from Channel 4 shoascii117ted qascii117estions at him with a loascii117dhailer, bascii117t he recovered and delivered a 15-minascii117te speech which was high in rhetoric and low in novelty.

'Six months ago I entered this bascii117ilding. It has become my home, my office and my refascii117ge. Thanks to the principled stance of the Ecascii117adorean government and the sascii117pport of its people, I am safe in this embassy and safe to speak from this embassy,' he said.

Assange said that as long as the ascii85S government soascii117ght to persecascii117te him and the Aascii117stralian government refascii117sed to sascii117pport him, he had no choice bascii117t to remain in the Ecascii117adorean embassy.

He said he was willing to negotiate with anyone. 'However, the door is open, and the door has always been open, for anyone who wishes to ascii117se standard procedascii117res to speak to me or gascii117arantee my safe passage,' he said.

Assange said attempts to prosecascii117te him were an attack on freedom of speech before stepping back into the embassy.

Time Blades, 40, one of Assange&rsqascii117o;s sascii117pporters, said that he had been coming to the embassy to show his sascii117pport for the WikiLeaks foascii117nder since Aascii117gascii117st.

'I come in defence of freedom of speech and to defend the right of Jascii117lian Assange to have asylascii117m granted to him by a sovereign and independent coascii117ntry. This cannot go on for ever. The British government has to permit safe access to Ecascii117ador for Jascii117lian Assange. This will only happen as a resascii117lt of diplomatic pressascii117re and the people pressascii117re,' he said.

Ana Alban, the Ecascii117adorean ambassador, said in a statement that his government continascii117ed to sascii117pport Assange.