Justice Jeremy Johnson has also been a specially vetted barrister, cleared by the UK authorities to access top-secret information. Johnson will sit with Dame Victoria Sharp, his senior judge, to decide the fate of the WikiLeaks co-founder. If extradited, Assange faces a maximum sentence of 175 years.

His persecution by the US authorities has been at the behest of Washington's intelligence and security services, with whom the U.K. has deep relations.

Assange's journalistic career has been marked by exposing the dirty secrets of the US and UK national security establishments. He now faces a judge who has acted for, and received security clearance from, some of those same state agencies.

As with previous judges who have ruled on Assange's case, this raises concerns about institutional conflicts of interest. Exactly how much Johnson has been paid for his work for government departments is not clear. Records show he was paid twice by the Government Legal Department for his services in 2018. The sum was over £55,000.

Briefed by MI6

Justice Johnson became a deputy High Court judge in 2016 and a full judge in 2019. His biography states he has been "often acting in cases involving the police and government departments."

As a barrister, in 2007 he represented MI6 as an observer during the inquests into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed.