Australian PM Julia Gillard comments on Wikileaks

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has spoken about the whistle-blowing website Wikileaks. She told a news conference that it is "grossly irresponsible" for Wikileaks to publish items like critical infrastructure lists.

Gillard said publication of documents would not have been possible "if there had not been an illegal act undertaken".

The founder of the website Julian Assange is an Australian citizen and is in the custody of British police after being arrested over allegations of sexual assault in Sweden.

His supporters had previously written an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard asking her to protect him.