WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was refused bail today as he vowed to fight attempts to extradite him to Sweden.
The 39-year-old Australian was remanded in custody after appearing before a judge over claims that he sexually assaulted two women.
The former hacker turned himself in to Scotland Yard detectives after a two-week guessing game over his location.
His legal team said they will make a second bid to regain his freedom when he appears in court again next Tuesday.
They claimed Swedish prosecutors have been put under political pressure to restart their inquiry to help silence and discredit Mr Assange.
The decision to remand him in custody came despite the offer of a £180,000 surety from backers including John Pilger, Jemima Khan and Ken Loach.
Supporters said the move would not hinder the steady stream of United States diplomatic cables published on the WikiLeaks website.
The latest documents included details of a Nato defence plan for Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
But the organisation suffered fresh blows to its finances as global payment giants Visa and MasterCard said they would no longer service it.
WikiLeaks has already been forced to change domains, its servers and lost the use of PayPal as a series of companies severed ties.
United States defence secretary Robert Gates welcomed the news of Mr Assange’s fate during a visit to Afghanistan.
“That sounds like good news to me,” he said.
Prosecutors in Stockholm want to question Mr Assange over claims he sexually assaulted two women during a visit to Sweden in August.
The allegations include rape and molestation in one case and molestation and unlawful coercion in a second.
Mr Assange has denied the allegations which he has claimed stem from a dispute over “consensual but unprotected sex”.
City of Westminster magistrates’ court heard Mr Assange had been staying at the Frontline Club, a journalist’s centre in central London.
Mr Assange, who was accompanied by officials from the Australian High Commission, gave his address as a postal box in his native country.
Gemma Lindfield, for the Swedish authorities, said Mr Assange should not be granted bail because of his nomadic lifestyle, international contacts and lack of ties.
She added that custody would also be for his safety as “any number of people could take it upon themselves to cause him harm”.
District judge Howard Riddle refused bail on the grounds there was a risk Mr Assange would fail to surrender.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Assange’s solicitor Mark Stephens said WikiLeaks is supported by “thousands” of people worldwide and will not be disrupted.
He said: “This is going to go viral. Many people will come forward to stand as surety for Mr Assange.
“Many people believe Mr Assange to be innocent, myself included, and many people believe that this prosecution is politically motivated.”
Mr Pilger said Mr Assange was “innocent” and being “denied justice”.
He said: “This is a man who has made some very serious enemies for the very best of reasons and done a job of extraordinary journalism which benefits all of us.”
Jemima Khan, whose brother Zac Goldsmith recently won the Richmond Park and North Kingston seat as a Tory MP, said she was supporting Mr Assange.
She said: “I just wanted to say I am not here to make any kind of judgment on Julian Assange as an individual because I do not know him and I have never met him.
“I am here because I believe this is about the principle of the universal right of freedom of information and our right to be told the truth.”
The extradition case is Mr Assange’s most pressing legal problem but is unlikely to be his last after the United States launched a criminal inquiry.
Senior politicians have said WikiLeaks has jeopardised United States national security and diplomatic efforts around the world.
The case has become an international cause celebre as governments weigh up the damage to their reputations with the right to freedom of speech.
A grassroots army of supporters have defended WikiLeaks, setting up mirror sites, fighting off computer attacks and donating thousands of pounds online.
An encrypted version of some of the most sensitive diplomatic cables has been distributed to supporters as an “insurance policy”.
WikiLeaks said it will release an encryption code if the site is permanently closed down and continues to solicit funds through affiliates in Iceland and Germany.
PA