Assange row ‘will not harm Latin American relations’

BRITAIN’S stand-off with Ecuador over the extradition of Julian Assange to Sweden will not harm relations with Latin America, a Foreign Office minister told the Commons yesterday.

Jeremy Browne said relations with Latin America were better than they had been in years, with more ministerial visits to the region carried out by this government than the last.

Ex-Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell suggested the row over Assange – who has been holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy since June after skipping bail to avoid extradition – could hit relations, potentially over the Falkland Islands.

Speaking in the Commons, he said: “Is there not a risk if we appear to behave in a high-handed fashion those very objectives you refer to (building relationships and trade) will be very substantially prejudiced?

“Not least, of course, our interest in preserving the independence and self-determination of the people of the Falklands?”

Mr Browne said: “Britain’s relations with Latin America are on a better footing than they have been for decades.”