Chima Simone sits down with Alex Gibney (AP Interview--UK)
Chima Simone sits down with Oscar winning documentary film director and producer, Alex Gibney, to discuss Julian Assange #39;s denouncement of "We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks," and more.

By: Chima Simone

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Chima Simone sits down with Alex Gibney (AP Interview--UK) - Video

Story highlights There's an operation guarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London London Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed, as there's "no doubt it's a drain" Assange has been in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer to sex assault claims

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed, as there's "no doubt it's a drain."

Assange has been living in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

The Australian national has not been charged and denies the claims, saying he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.

Julian Assange fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum in June 2012.

On the operation to prevent Assange from fleeing the embassy, Hogan-Howe told LBC Radio that Metropolitan Police were looking at "how we can do that differently in the future, because it's sucking our resources in."

Asked if that meant fewer officers stationed around the clock outside the embassy, Hogan-Howe added: "We won't talk specifically about our tactics, but we are reviewing what options we have."

The cost of providing a constant police presence ready to arrest Assange should he emerge from the embassy in Knightsbridge, central London, is estimated at 10 million pounds, a Scotland Yard spokesman told CNN.

Assange has said the extradition warrant should be thrown out because, in part, Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy, thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago.

Assange rocketed to international fame when WikiLeaks began publishing secret government documents online.

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The $15M wait for Julian Assange

LONDON, UK You can do a lot with 10 million British pounds in London.

Its equal to over $15 million. Here thats a years worth of public education for roughly 1,000 kids. Or a years worth of street policing by more than 300 officers. Or just one really nice one-bedroom apartment.

Its also the amount of money the British taxpayer has spent so far keeping Metropolitan Police officers stationed 24/7 for almost three years outside the Embassy of Ecuador, on the off chance that one high-profile occupant strolls out.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up in the brick building since June 20, 2012. Ecuador granted him asylum after he lost an appeal at the UK Supreme Court against extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sex crime allegations.

The police have orders to arrest Assange as soon as he sets foot on British soil. So every day for almost 1,000 days, officers with not much to do have stood outside the building in Londons Knightsbridge neighborhood, just across the street from Harrods department store.

There, a crystal-encrusted bottle of Robert Piguet perfume sells for 10,000 pounds just under the 10,500-pound ($16,000) daily cost of the embassys police detail.

To the best of anyones knowledge, Assange who looked like a man who hadnt seen the sun in a while, even before his asylum claim hasnt been outdoors in more than two and a half years.

Sometimes he peeks out the window, said an officer stationed in front of the building on Wednesday afternoon.

A personal trainers been around lately, the officer said. We can see him doing his boxercizing.

The Met, as Londons police force is known, is facing massive budget cuts as a result of austerity measures, as is virtually every public institution in Britain.

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UK taxpayers could buy a lot with the millions spent policing Julian Assange