Julian Assange's US extradition order sent to Priti Patel for final approval

Protesters, including Mr Assange's wife Stella Moris, gathered outside the court in London

Julian Assange's battle against extradition to the US is now heading to the home secretary for her final decision.

In a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, the judge who oversees extradition requests authorised the case to be sent to Priti Patel.

The Wikileaks founder is expected to appeal to the High Court if she approves his extradition.

Mr Assange is wanted in the US over documents leaked in 2010 and 2011.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that Mr Assange's case raised no legal questions over assurances the US had given the UK over how he is likely to be treated.

Ms Patel must now decide whether the US's request for Mr Assange meets remaining legal tests - including a promise not to execute him.

Julian Assange's lawyer Mark Summers QC told chief magistrate Paul Goldspring that the home secretary would be receiving "serous submissions" on US sentencing law and practices.

"You, of course, have no option but to send this case to the Secretary of State," he said.

"It is not for me to raise fresh evidence [at this stage] even though there have been serious developments in this case."

Julian Assange, pictured in 2017, spent nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London

Mr Assange spoke briefly on a video link from Belmarsh Prison during the seven-minute hearing, to confirm his name and date of birth and to acknowledge he understood what was happening.

"I am duty-bound to send your case to the Secretary of State for a decision on whether you will be extradited," the judge told him.

"You have the right to appeal to the High Court and if you exercise your right to appeal it will not be heard until [Ms Patel] has made her decision."

Scores of people protesting against Mr Assange's extradition gathered outside the court, carrying placards reading "Don't extradite Assange".

The 50-year-old has been in prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019 and arrested by British police, after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status.

In May 2019, while serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail, the US justice department filed 17 charges against Mr Assange for violating the Espionage Act - alleging that material obtained by Wikileaks endangered lives.

Mr Assange's legal team claimed that classified documents published by Wikileaks, which related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest.