WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was today arrested on extradition orders by British police after voluntarily meeting officers.
He walked into a London police station at 9.30am this morning and was immediately arrested over demands that he is sent to Sweden to face questioning over rape allegations.
Mr Assange, 39, will appear before a district judge at Westminster Magistrates Court, central London, this afternoon. He has not been bailed by police.
It comes after Scotland Yard officers finally took receipt of the correct paperwork for a European Arrest Warrant yesterday.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit have this morning arrested Julian Assange on behalf of the Swedish authorities on suspicion of rape.
'Julian Assange was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant by appointment at a London police station at 9.30am.
'He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010.
'Assange is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today.' He is expected to appear in court after 2pm.
Mr Assange was accompanied to an unnamed police station this morning by both his British lawyers, Mark Stephens and Jennifer Robinson.
Police contacted Mr Stephens last night after receiving a fresh European Arrest Warrant from the Swedish authorities.
The first warrant, issued last month, was not valid as officials had failed to fill in the form properly.
Detectives in Sweden want to question Mr Assange after two women claimed they were sexually assaulted when he visited the country in August.
Mr Stephens said his client was keen to discover what allegations he was facing so he could clear his name.
He said: ‘It's about time we got to the end of the day and we got some truth, justice and rule of law.
‘Julian Assange has been the one in hot pursuit to vindicate himself to clear his good name.
‘He has been trying to meet with her (the Swedish prosecutor) to find out what the allegations are he has to face and also the evidence against him, which he still hasn't seen.’
WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said the arrest would not derail the release of the cables.
'This will not change our operation,' he said.
Meanwhile, PostFinance, the financial arm of the Swiss post office, said it had closed Mr Assange's account after he provided ‘false information’.
The bank said he falsely claimed to live in Geneva and people who do not live in Switzerland cannot hold accounts. WikiLeaks used the account for donations.
The sex case is Mr Assange's most pressing legal issue, but may not be his last as several countries chew over the impact of his diplomatic cable disclosures.
He has come under growing pressure after his WikiLeaks site started publishing excerpts from a cache of 250,000 secret messages.
Former U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has described him as ‘an anti-American operative with blood on his hands’.
Senior Republican Mike Huckabee said that ‘anything less than execution is too kind a penalty’.
WikiLeaks was forced to move to a Swiss host after being dumped by U.S. internet companies as it comes under siege from a series of cyber attacks.
Meanwhile, all Government departments have been asked by national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts to review their computer security.
The whistlelowing website sparked unprecedented anger by yesterday revealing a classified catalogue of installations including defence plants, satellite facilities and undersea cables in Britain.
They were among hundreds of key industries and infrastructure identified across the world that Washington believes is vital to its national security.
It was the latest tranche of U.S. diplomatic cables to be released since the website began to drip 250,000 leaked files on to its website.
On a day of dramatic developments:
The Swiss post office bank, PostFinance, froze Mr Assange’s accounts – containing defence fund and personal assets worth 31,000 euros – for giving false information regarding his home.
Home Secretary Theresa May admitted all Government departments had been ordered to review their computer security by national security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts.
And the U.S. attorney general Eric Holder said he would examine U.S. laws over a possible prosecution for releasing the sensitive official files.
Among the sensitive locations revealed by the WikiLeaks site were three facilities owned British arms and aerospace manufacturer BAE.