CRAIG Murray was not barred from the prison wedding of Julian Assange – he was not invited, the Ministry of Justice has claimed. However, Murray insists the claim is untrue.
The WikiLeaks founder is being held at HMP Belmarsh on charges concerning the alleged leaking of national security information.
He married his partner Stella Moris (below) at a small ceremony in the East London jail on Wednesday.
Murray, a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan, said he was invited to the ceremony by Assange but that he was denied entry because his presence would “endanger the security of the prison”.
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The Ministry of Justice has now flatly denied this.
Murray (below) tweeted: “I have the huge honour of being invited by Julian and Stella as one of the six people allowed to attend their wonderful wedding in Belmarsh prison today.
“But Julian has now been told I will not be allowed in as my presence would ‘endanger the security of the prison’!!!
“I plainly have superpowers, but this spite and viciousness even on their wedding day is absolutely typical of the cruel yet pathetic British authorities. But it most certainly will not spoil the day; we already knew what they are and nothing has changed.
“The defiant wedding of Julian and Stella today, in the face of a possible 175 years in a US jail for publishing the facts of US war crimes, is a triumph for love, a triumph for hope and a triumph for truth. Let us celebrate!!”
The Ministry of Justice told The National: “[Julian] was informed on March 11 via solicitors that he was allowed to have close family in attendance.
“He identified four guests and two children and those were the six guests he was allowed.
READ MORE: Julian Assange wins right to appeal against extradition to US
“Craig Murray was not part of that six.”
Murray has accused the UK Government of lying about his invitation to the ceremony.
He told The National: "Stella contacted me about two weeks ago by text message saying Julian wanted me to attend the wedding and they wanted me to be one of the two witnesses.
"The day before yesterday I got a text from Stella saying the prison service had said I wasn't allowed to go and a PDF of a legal letter from the lawyers for the prison service disallowing me to go."
Among those invited were Assange’s two brothers and his father John Shipton.
Moris arrived at the jail wearing a floor-length corseted lilac dress designed by Vivienne Westwood and an elaborate veil embroidered with messages from friends.
The satin dress features a note from Westwood sewn into the coat, according to the designer.
Assange was also wearing a Vivienne Westwood waistcoat jacket and kilt, while their two young sons wore matching kilts.
Supporters cheered Moris as she arrived and passing motorists sounded their horns.
She posed for photographs with her sons as Shipton waved behind her.
Murray, 63, a close friend of Assange, described the wedding as a “moment of hope and love in terrible circumstances”.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m very happy for them.
“It’s a moment of affirmation, of hope and love in terrible circumstances.”
Murray added that he is still hopeful for the eventual release of Assange, whose last appeal against the High Court’s decision in December 2021 to extradite him to the United States has been rejected.
Murray, who was dressed in a kilt for the occasion, added though that prison staff had not allowed him in as a guest.
“They were allowed six guests and I was one of them,” he told PA.
“But I wasn’t allowed to enter because they said I would endanger the security of the prison.”
Murray said he did not know why he was considered a safety risk but believed it may have been because he is a writer, formerly with WikiLeaks.
Val, 73, who travelled from her home in Bedford to attend the couple’s wedding day, described the event as “bittersweet”.
The supporter, who has been campaigning for the release of Mr Assange for 12 years, said: “This wedding should be in Westminster with thousands of people there, and they should be able to live together as husband and wife.
“It’s bittersweet. It’s good that they’ve been able to get married and show their love to the world.
“But the horror of what is happening, if he is extradited to America, would be absolutely terrible.”
Assange’s wedding comes just weeks before the third anniversary of his dramatic arrest when he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in the capital.
The WikiLeaks founder has been held in the high-security jail ever since as he fights extradition to the United States, where he is wanted over an alleged conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information following WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Assange has always denied wrongdoing and has won support for his case from human rights organisations and journalist groups across the world.
In a statement referring to former US soldier and defence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked material to WikiLeaks, Westwood said: “Julian published the collateral murder video released to him by Chelsea Manning.
“The greatest threat the US faced to its credibility.
“We are a global war economy and the authorities have held and trapped Julian by laws which have avoided all due process.
“To me, Julian is a pure soul and a freedom fighter.”
Murray was approached for comment.
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