Wikileaks founder Julian Assange arrested

Julian Assange Wikileaks founder ©Reuters

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested in London on suspicion of rape following an arrest warrant issued by the Swedish authorities, British police say.

The elusive creator of the controversial whistleblowing website was detained after attending a London police station by appointment. He is due to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court later on Tuesday.

The extradition unit of the Metropolitan Police Service arrested Assange on behalf of the Swedish authorities, a Metropolitan Police press release says.

Assange has denied the charges and his lawyer Mark Stephens said Sunday that the pursuit of his client had "political motivations".

Assange is at the centre of a row over the release of secret US diplomatic cables, which have strained relations between the US and several countries including Yemen and Russia. The controversial creator of the WikiLeaks website has been hiding in an undisclosed location in the UK since the release of hundreds of cables last week.

On 19 November, a Swedish court approved an arrest warrant for Assange on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.

Earlier Monday, Swiss authorities shut down one of Assange's bank accounts with the Swiss Post Office saying he had provided false information in his application.

"PostFinance has ended its business relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Paul Assange," the bank said in a statement.