A source has revealed that Ecuador's reluctance to release serial leaker and alleged sex fiend Julian Assange into police custody was due to an erroneous understanding that their embassy guest was none other than British funnyman John Inman, who died in 2007.
Inman, who bore a striking resemblance to Assange before his untimely death, was best known for his portrayal of one-dimensional innuendo merchant Mr Humphreys in long running sitcom Are You Being Served. The shop based farce remains Ecuador's most popular TV show with upwards of 6 episodes per day aired by the state broadcaster. The error was apparently made when a desk clerk misunderstood Assange's request in broken Spanish to 'be served'. After a brief conversation, the clerk mistakenly alerted the ambassador that Inman was seeking asylum with the Republic of Ecuador.
An embassy source said "We now realise that a mistake has been made and Mr Inman did die in 2007 as reported. We couldn't understand why the British would extradite such a brilliant comedian but we were so excited that he was here that we didn't stop to think about the diplomatic ramifications. We were hopeful that Mr Innman could help improve Ecuador's comedy output which is regionally recognised as weak and too heavily centered on the industrial extraction of petrochemicals."
"We have no particular interest in Mr Assange and would be happy to hand him over in exchange for either Jimmy Tarbucks or Mr One Foot in the Grave."