‘Is he in Milton Keynes?’: Twitter users joke about whereabouts of Wikileaks chief Julian Assange after claims he’s been sent to ‘Britain’s Guantanamo Bay’

• Assange was taken to Belmarsh prison after arrest at Ecuador’s London Embassy 
• Prison, in south east London, was given nickname briefly from 2001 to 2002
• Twitter users suggested Britain’s real equivalent to notorious prison was Butlins
• Others suggested he was in a motorway services toilet or Lowestoft in Suffolk

Twitter users are joking about the whereabouts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after it was claimed he was sent to ‘Britain’s Guantanamo Bay’.

Assange was arrested at Ecuador’s London Embassy on Thursday and is currently being held at the high-security Belmarsh jail in south east London.

The jail, with notable prisoners including black cab rapist John Worboys and Grindr serial killer Stephen Port, was briefly given the nickname between 2001 and 2002 for holding a number of prisoners indefinitely without charge under terrorism laws. 

Many Twitter users were confused over the comparison to the notorious detention centre where prisoners were tortured and abused, and began to suggest other places across the UK where the nickname might be more apt.

One user wrote: ‘He’s in Milton Keynes?’

Twitter users are joking about the whereabouts of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after it was claimed he was sent to ‘Britain’s Guantanamo Bay’, aka Belmarsh prison (pictured) 

The WikiLeaks founder, pictured, was arrested at Ecuador’s London Embassy on Thursday

Many Twitter users were confused over the comparison to the notorious detention centre where prisoners were tortured, and began to suggest other places across the UK where the nickname might be more apt – including Milton Keynes and a motorway services toilet

Another suggested: ‘They’re holding him in a motorway services toilet?’

Mike Bevan joked: ‘He’s been moved to Scunthorpe?’

Others wondered if Assange had been moved to one of the holiday camps scattered across the country.

Dan Walton tweeted: ‘Surely the staff at Butlins have suffered enough by now?’

Sam Golding added: ‘Must be Pontins at Camber Sands based on their trip advisor reviews.’ 

Pictured: Guantanamo Bay. Belmarsh prison held the nickname briefly between 2001 and 2002 for holding a number of prisoners indefinitely without charge under terrorism laws

Others wondered if the WikiLeaks co-founder had been moved to one of the holiday camps scattered across the country

More helpful Twitter users pointed out that the UK doesn’t have a true Guantanamo Bay equivalent.  

Assange was thrown out of his Ecuador embassy bolthole where he had been given refuge since 2012 earlier this week. 

In extraordinary scenes, eight policemen had to drag the bearded and dishevelled Assange to a waiting police van as he ranted about Donald Trump and screamed ‘the UK has no civility’.

His arrest came after the Ecuadorian government ended his asylum status, saying it was tired of his ‘discourteous’ behaviour and poor personal hygiene, which reportedly included smearing faeces on the walls of the country’s London embassy.

The former hacker now faces a maximum sentence of one year in a British jail, likely to be Wandsworth prison in south London

At court, the judge branded Assange a ‘narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests’. 

Assange denied skipping bail in 2012 but was found guilty after the judge said his defence was ‘laughable’. 

He had tried to claim he breached his bail conditions because he couldn’t be guaranteed a fair trial in the UK.  

The former hacker now faces a maximum sentence of one year in a British jail, likely to be Wandsworth prison in south London. 

This would see him serve six months before a fight over his extradition to the US begins. Experts say that process could take up to two years.

Meanwhile Swedish prosecutors said they would consider restarting the rape investigation which caused Assange to first seek refuge in the embassy. 

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