WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to one count of espionage as part of a plea deal with US authorities.

The agreement means Assange will be sentenced to time already served in a British prison.

His court appearance took place on the US territory of Saipan. He left the UK on Monday after being released on bail from Belmarsh high security jail.

The US request to extradite Assange on spying charges has been dropped and he is expected to fly to his home country of Australia shortly to be reunited with his wife and children.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Julian Assange is travelling to his native Australia on a private jet after US authorities agreed to drop their demand for the WikiLeaks founder to be extradited from the UK having struck a plea deal with him.

Assange had to pay $500,000 (£394,000) for a chartered flight from Stansted to Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands – a US commonwealth in the Pacific – where he will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.

In exchange he will be sentenced to time served – the 62 months he has already spent in a British prison – according to court documents.

Once the guilty plea has been accepted by a judge, the 52-year-old will be free to return to Australia, the country of his birth.

The chartered flight stopped in Bangkok for refuelling on its way to Saipan.

Assange is accompanied by a WikiLeaks lawyer, a representative of the Australian government and a medic to check on his health.

American prosecutors had alleged Assange put lives at risk when he helped former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files WikiLeaks put online in 2010.

He had been locked in a legal battle in the UK over his extradition, which included him entering the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 prior to his detention in Belmarsh prison – where he has been since May 2019.

‘Julian is free!’

In a post on X, WikiLeaks said Assange left Belmarsh on Monday morning after being granted bail by the High Court. By the afternoon he was at Stansted Airport where he boarded a plane and left the UK.

“After more than five years in a 2×3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars,” the organisation said.

Mrs Assange shared on social media a video montage of her husband in a car and then boarding a plane.

She wrote: “Julian is free!!!!

“Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU – yes YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.”

She posted on X to say Assange will owe $520,000 to the Australian government for the charter flight and asked for donations to help pay for it.

Speaking from Australia, Mrs Assange told the PA news agency: “It is hard to believe that Julian has been in prison for so long. It had become normalised. I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this.

“Overall I am elated but I cannot believe it is actually happening until I see Julian.”

Mrs Assange said her husband would not have been released without the intervention of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been increasingly vocal in his demands for the US to drop charges against Assange.

“The public climate has shifted and everyone understands that Julian has been the victim,” she said.

“Things are still very sensitive. Julian is paying for the flight so we will launch a fundraising campaign.”

She said she had travelled to Australia with the couple’s two young sons, Gabriel and Max, on Sunday when it became clear Assange would be freed.

WikiLeaks shared an update on Assange’s journey on X, posting a picture of him on a jet as it approached Bangkok for a stopover.

Assange’s plea and sentencing on Saipan are scheduled for Wednesday morning local time (Tuesday evening UK time).

The hearing is taking place in the US Commonwealth territory because of Assange’s opposition to travelling to one of the 50 US states and the court’s proximity to Australia.

Read more:
Timeline of Assange’s 13-year legal battle
Plea deal marks end of a transatlantic tug of war
Artist’s threat to destroy masterpieces ‘helped free Assange’

Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton told Sky News this morning the WikiLeaks founder is “overwhelmed to be out of prison”.

Mr Shipton added: “He’s been on a plane for a very long time now… I’ve been speaking to him this week and just going through all the details with him.

“He’s been very anxious, very excited, and he’s looking forward to spending time with his family and being free, being able to have the sun shining on his face, see the birds, go for a swim in the ocean back in Australia.

“He’s very much looking forward to that.”

Craig Murray, a friend of Assange, told Sky News the news was “absolutely wonderful”.

He said: “The whole family is totally elated that we have finally got an end to this terrible saga.”

Mr Murray said the entire ordeal has been “very taxing” on Assange with his imprisonment taking a toll on both his physical and mental health.

He added: “We are lucky that he is a very resilient man and he will recover and we will get our Julian fully back.”

Simon Crowther, Amnesty International’s legal adviser, said: “We welcome the news that Julian Assange is to be released, as we believe he should never have been imprisoned like this in the first place.

“The fight to protect freedom of expression continues though. The years-long global spectacle of the prosecution of a publisher for revealing alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations has undoubtedly done historic damage.”

A more than decade-long fight

Assange has been fighting extradition to the US for more than a decade.

In a January 2021 ruling, then district judge Vanessa Baraitser said he should not be sent to the US, citing a real and “oppressive” risk of suicide, while ruling against him on all other issues.

Later that year, US authorities won a High Court bid to overturn this block, paving the way towards Assange’s extradition.

In June 2022, the UK government approved the extradition of Assange to the US, with then home secretary Priti Patel having signed the extradition order.

Read more from Sky News:
Ship in deadly Baltimore bridge collapse leaves disaster site
Pirates Of The Caribbean actor dies after shark attack
Family sues NASA after home is hit by space station debris

In February of this year, he made one final attempt under UK law to avoid being sent to the US.

In March, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson dismissed most of Assange’s legal arguments – but said unless assurances were given by the US, he would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

These assurances were that Assange would be protected by and allowed to rely on the First Amendment – which protects freedom of speech in the US – that he would not be “prejudiced at trial” due to his nationality and the death penalty would not be imposed.

Three months later, in May, two High Court judges ruled he would be allowed to appeal against being extradited, would not face the death penalty and he could rely on the First Amendment if he faced a trial for spying.

The Australian government said it continues to provide consular assistance to Assange.

“Prime Minister Albanese has been clear – Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration,” a spokesperson said.

The parents of a seven-year-old girl who died after being buried by sand on a Florida beach have set up a national campaign to help prevent similar tragedies happening in future.

Sloan Mattingly had been helping to dig a hole with her brother Maddox, nine, when it collapsed on Tuesday 20 February.

Beachgoers at the scene in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea rushed to pull out the pair, but Sloan died after being taken to hospital.

She had reportedly been buried in the 1.8m (5ft 11in) deep pit for around 20 minutes. Her brother was also taken to hospital but was left in a stable condition.

Sloan’s mother Therese and father Jason have now set up a campaign encouraging families to build sandcastles when on the beach instead of digging potentially dangerous holes.

Mrs Mattingly said in a Facebook post raising awareness of the campaign: “Sloan’s legacy is of her heart and spirit, but is also a little bit this. Please stay safe and do NOT hesitate to speak up!”

The “Sandcastles For Sloan” campaign provides beachgoers with tips and advice to help prevent adults or children from becoming buried under sand.

It warns that “sand holes can collapse quickly” and advises people to “avoid digging deeper than knee height of the shortest person in your group”.

Beachgoers are also advised to fill in holes after they are “done playing” to help keep other people safe.

Families are also urged to not let children put sand in their mouths.

A message with the campaign reads: “Sloan was a light in the world, a sweet little girl who loved dogs and the colour red.

“To honour Sloan’s memory, share this message with your beach community.”

Read more US news
Boxing champion reveals son has died aged 32
Family sues NASA after home is hit by space junk
Pirates Of The Caribbean star killed by shark

The Mattingly family, from Fort Wayne in Indiana, were on holiday when the tragedy happened.

Mrs Mattingly described her daughter’s death as a “freak accident” in a tribute shared on a GoFundMe page for the family in February.

She added: “It took away our greatest 7.5 years. Don’t tell us you’re sorry for our loss… don’t do that to us. We experienced the purest human being and we are forever changed by her.

“We love you beyond any stretch of the imagination. Our sweet Sloan. What we would give.”

The page raised more than $162,000 (£127,000) to help the family cover funeral costs and provide them with financial assistance due their period of grief.

Sloan’s uncle Chris Sloan, with the girl’s first name having been her mother’s maiden name, told KFOR-TV in February: “They were having a good time. Everybody was really excited to actually see them out there.”

He added: “Later we found out that after the sand had caved, [Sloan] kept trying to grab up Maddox’s leg to get up out of the sand, and eventually he couldn’t feel her moving anymore.

“The sand had been up to [Maddox’s] chest, and he was screaming for help, and a lot of people did come and help.”