"All this about Sweden could send him to USA has to be balanced against all the time he was on UK soil and I don't recall USA asking us to extradite him?"

It is all a bit confusing. The supporters of Assange use the argument that he would/could be extradited on from Sweden to the US and possibly face the death penalty. But I too can't understand why Sweden would be deemed a softer touch for the Americans than the UK would be. Hasn't Sweden got just as independent a legal system as the UK has? I'd have thought the Swedes wouldn't extradite someone unless given assurances re the death penalty. The extradition agreement between the EU states and the US makes it clear that unless the US officially agrees to not carry out the death penalty then EU members can refuse extradition!