Jemima Khan

Raggle-taggle of ‘household names’ supplied big sums in the direction of WikiLeaks founder’s failed bail plea

The previously curious situation of Julian Assange took one more weird twist yesterday when the courtroom discovered that a raggle-taggle of “household names” were ready to stake their reputation in his case, offering sureties for the court which has a whole value of £180,000.

Despite claiming to not know Assange, the film-maker Ken Loach and the socialite and charity fundraiser Jemima Khan stood prior to Westminster magistrates and offered big  sums in the direction of Assange’s bail, however bail was  later refused.

Supplying £20,000, Loach said he did not know Assange aside from by reputation, but added: “I assume the operate he has performed continues to be a public service. I feel we are entitled to know the dealings of those that govern us.”

Khan offered a further £20,000, “or much more if need be”.

Inside a statement later, she mentioned: “I make no judgment of Julian Assange as an individual as I’ve never met him. I’m supplying my assistance to him as I feel within the universal proper to freedom of data and our proper to become informed the truth.”

On her Twitter feed very last month, Khan asked if Assange was “the new Jason Bourne”, a reference to your fictional motion hero produced by the thriller author Robert Ludlum. The submit has because been deleted.

The journalist and filmmaker John Pilger, who also presented £20,000, explained he knew Assange as being a journalist and individual friend and had a “very higher regard for him”.

The largest donation of £80,000 was presented by an unknown American relation who did not want to be named simply because of fear for his safety.

Patricia David, a professor, as well as the top lawyer Geoffrey Sheen every single presented up £20,000 surety on grounds that they’d spent their lives preventing for human rights.

Outdoors courtroom Pilger said: “This company in Sweden can be a travesty; an harmless guy features a proper to be totally free.

“Having his freedom taken absent is outrageous. Sweden should be ashamed. This isn’t justice – this really is outrageous.”

He extra: “Behind this he has made a lot of enemies, the principal a single becoming the warmonger, the usa.”

Howard Riddle, the judge on the courtroom in Horseferry Street, London, commended 4 from the sureties for their willingness to assist “out of concern for human rights” and without having individual information of Assange.