Jeremy Corbyn has demanded the UK blocks the extradition of Julian Assange to the US – where the Wikileaks founder could face decades in jail.

Labour's leader was slammed by some his own MPs after rowing in behind Assange, who was dragged kicking and screaming out of Ecuador's London embassy yesterday after 2,487 days holed up inside.

The 47-year-old faces up to 12 months in a British prison after he was found guilty of breaching his bail conditions.

He then faces extradition to the US to face claims he conspired to hack into a classified Pentagon computer – which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

But WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said he fears more charges will be added once Assange arrives, meaning he could face decades in a US prison.

Jeremy Corbyn tweeted last night: "The extradition of Julian Assange to the US for exposing evidence of atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan should be opposed by the British government.

Mr Corbyn was retweeted by Pamela Anderson, one of Assange's most famous supporters, who has previously described Mr Corbyn as "clearly a decent and fair man".

Last night Assange's lawyer told the Mirror he was suffering osteoperosis and dental problems after being dragged, grey-haired and pony-tailed, by officers invited into the embassy.

Assange was accused of rape by a woman he met at a conference in Sweden in August 2010.

Assange denied the claims but has never been tried in court over them due to his refusal to face justice.

In June 2012, Swedish prosecutors called for him to be extradited to the Sweden – but his lawyers claimed this could be a pretext to extradite him to the US.

So Assange fled bail and applied for asylum in Ecuador, walking into the country's embassy in London where he stayed for almost seven years.

Labour MP Jess Phillips attacked Jeremy Corbyn's support for the Wikileaks founder today.

She wrote: "The fact that Assange has evaded charges of sexual violence and skipped bail should be opposed by the Labour Party.

"I'm sure it is, I'd like to hear it."

Meanwhile Labour MP Graham Jones retweeted concerns that Wikileaks' activity put informants' lives in danger.

He tweeted: "Jeremy Corbyn is mistaken in backing Assange. Not forgetting it's a rape allegation he is facing."

Theresa May, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt all said Assange's arrest on Thursday showed that no-one is "above the law".

In the US, Hillary Clinton said Assange should "answer for what he had done".

But Labour leader Mr Corbyn said Assange should not be extradited to the US to face a charge of conspiring with former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to break into a classified government computer.

Assange's mother, Christine Assange, also took to Twitter to defend her son, who she said was "sick and in pain from prolonged detention and torture".

Meanwhile Donald Trump claimed he knows "nothing about WikiLeaks" when asked about the arrest.

That was despite the president praising Assange during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign.

And Trump welcomed the political boost when the organisation released emails damaging to Mrs Clinton.

Following his arrest, Assange, with grey hair tied into a pony tail and sporting a long beard, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where a judge accused him of behaving like a "narcissist".

The growing row over the extradition comes as a man, said to be Swedish software developer Ola Bini, was held at Quito airport as he prepared to board a flight bound for Japan on Thursday.

Ecuador's interior minister, Maria Paula Romo, said a person with links to Assange had been arrested for allegedly conspiring against the country's government.

The Ecuadorian government had historically been sympathetic to Assange's cause, but a regime change two years ago heralded a less supportive approach.

The country's ambassador to the UK, Jaime Marchan, said that in the time Assange had remained in the embassy he had been disrespectful, "continually a problem" and interfered in elections, politics and the internal affairs of other countries.

Mr Marchan added: "He has said that we were spying on him, he has said we were lying, we were agents of the United States."

However, Mr Hrafnsson said Assange had been thrown "overboard" by Ecuador, adding: "I thought it was horrible to treat an individual like that. I thought it was disgraceful the Ecuadorians would go back on their word."

He said a Grand Jury investigation included charges which could lead to decades in prison or even the death penalty under the Espionage Act 1917, although UK Government policy is to block extradition to countries where suspects might face capital punishment.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that, as a citizen of the country, Assange will have consular assistance available to him but will not get "special treatment".

He spent almost seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he sought political asylum in 2012 when he failed in his legal battle against extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted over two separate allegations – one of rape and one of molestation.

In May 2017, Sweden's top prosecutor dropped the long-running inquiry into a rape claim against Assange, which he has always denied.

But his arrest prompted the lawyer for a Swedish woman who alleged she was raped by Assange during a visit to Stockholm in 2010 to say they wanted the case reopened.

Elisabeth Massi Fritz, who represents the unnamed woman, said news of Assange's arrest was "a shock to my client" and something "we have been waiting and hoping for since 2012".

Ms Massi Fritz said in a text message sent to the Associated Press that "we are going to do everything" to have the Swedish case reopened "so Assange can be extradited to Sweden and prosecuted for rape".

She added that "no rape victim should have to wait nine years to see justice be served".

Prosecutors in Sweden have since confirmed that, while the investigation has not been resumed, they are looking into the case.

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