he left belmarsh prison in london on monday. he is then driven to stansted airport before boarding a flight. the guilty plea is due to be confirmed on wednesday when mr assange will appear in front of a court in the northern mariana islands, a us territory in the pacific. he is then expected to return home to his native australia. julian assange spent seven years held up inside the ecuadorian embassy in london as washington tried to extradite him over the wikileaks files which disclosed confidential documents about the iraq and afghanistan wars in what turned out to be one of the biggest leaks of national security in american history. he was arrested in april 2019 over a breach of his bail conditions, and had spent the last five years inside a london prison, fighting his extradition to the united states. last month, a uk court ruled last month that he could appeal this decision after mr assange argued that he would not receive a fair trial. our north america correspondent,