The man who wrote Tom Watson’s legal advice on Syria gave an interview earlier this year to the Kremlin mouthpiece Sputnik praising the “brilliant” work of Julian Assange’s lawyers. Watson commissioned Oxford University professor Dr Dapo Akande to provide him with advice on the legality of the British strikes in Syria over the weekend. The advice, published this morning, suggested the strikes were against international law. Akande has been offering his view that humanitarian intervention in Syria is illegal since 2013. Guido is more interested in his interview with Sputnik earlier this year, in which Akande outlined how Ecuador could take the UK to the International Court of Justice over Assange and how they could give him diplomatic status. Akande gave Sputnik this effusive praise for Assange’s legal team:

“This latest move is actually an excellent move. I think it was a brilliant idea by the team to try and find a way. I don’t know whether it will be successful but it is about the best way of trying to advance his case and cause.”

Sputnik certainly enjoy Dr Akande’s work…