“It’s very curious. While all this was happening, the media has been presenting him as on the run and all these things. I’ve always been rather amused by that,” Smith told msnbc.com.

“He’s always worried some nut will come and hurt him, so he’s quite discreet. I haven’t felt it was my job to announce where he’s been. I feel if journalists or the security services want to find him, they can do the work,” he added.

Smith, who was an officer in the prestigious Grenadier Guards regiment and was shot twice during his journalistic career, believes Assange is “a hero.”