WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Scotland Yard said.
On Tuesday, Ecuador reminded Assange that he cannot stay indefinitely in the nation’s London embassy.
The country’s foreign minister Jose Valencia told Teleamazonas that a permanent stay would not be good for Mr Assange’s “state of mind, his health”.
He said that if Mr Assange were to appear before the British justice system he would be guaranteed a fair trial and right to a defence.
London’s Metropolitan Police force said last week that officers would be obliged to execute an active warrant for Mr Assange’s arrest if he were to leave.
In a statement today, Scotland Yard said: "Julian Assange, 47, has today, Thursday 11 April, been arrested by officers from the Metropolitan
"Police Service (MPS) at the Embassy of Ecuador, Hans Crescent, SW1 on a warrant issued by Westminster Magistrates' Court on 29 June 2012, for failing to surrender to the court.
"He has been taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible.
"The MPS had a duty to execute the warrant, on behalf of Westminster Magistrates' Court, and was invited into the embassy by the Ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government's withdrawal of asylum."
Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: "Nearly 7yrs after entering the Ecuadorean Embassy, I can confirm Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK. I would like to thank Ecuador for its cooperation & @metpoliceuk for its professionalism. No one is above the law."
Mr Assange had feared the possibility of extradition to the US for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.
Mr Assange has lived in Ecuador’s embassy for over six years and relations with his host country have grown increasingly tense.
