Scotland Yard said that 4.9 million of the bill resulted from the cost of diverting officers from normal duties to prevent the Australian-born 42-year-old escaping his west London sanctuary. A further 1 million has been spent on overtime. <\/p>\n
Mr Assange has been holed up at the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted over sexual offence allegations. <\/p>\n
He denies sexually assaulting two women in Stockholm in 2010 and claims the accusations form part of a smear campaign against him that could lead to him being extradited to America. <\/p>\n
Ministers have said, however, that this country has a legal duty to enforce Swedens extradition request, which has been backed by the British courts. Met officers have been deployed outside the embassy as a result. <\/p>\n
Baroness Jenny Jones, deputy chair of the Police and Crime Committee at the London Assembly, today condemned the cost and said it should be paid by the Government. <\/p>\n
She said: It is complete madness when we are struggling to keep police officers on the beat. The cost is falling on the London taxpayers as a net police cost. He could stay there for years. <\/p>\n
A Met spokesman said: The total costs provided are an estimate based on averages as actual salary and overtime costs will vary daily. <\/p>\n
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