Alexander Downer, who until 18 months ago was Australia’s high commissioner to London, said a Corbyn-led Labour government would prompt a reassessment of the historically strong security relationship between the two nations. Mr Downer said Mr Corbyn and many of his associates were “unsympathetic to and hostile to western interests”, adding he was “hoping Boris Johnson wins the election”.
He said if Mr Corbyn won, the sharing of intelligence with the UK through the Five Eyes collective – the intelligence-gathering alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the United States – would be significantly decreased.
Speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Downer said: ”We would substantially wind it back.
”We would have to be very careful what sort of intelligence we shared with the UK government, we would have to be very careful because of the foreign policy stance of Jeremy Corbyn and the cohorts around him.
“These are people who are unsympathetic to and hostile to western interests.
They are engaging, having engaged as friends and allies with people like Hamas, Hezbollah in the Middle East, the Iranians, the Venezuelans and so on as even the Maduro regime and Chavez regime before.
“These are people who are totally hostile to the traditions of western security policy.”
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I think we would be unwise to continue the intelligence sharing relationship with a Corbyn-led Britain of the kind we have today and have had under Gordon Brown and Tony Blair and so on over the years. I think that would have to change.
“There’s a 70 per cent chance that the Conservative Party under Boris Johnson will win the election.
“But if they don’t win outright, then expect Jeremy Corbyn to be the prime minister.
“And my last word on this is do you think that matters? Or is that just a matter of general interest?
“I’ll tell you it matters hugely to us.”
Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told The Australian: “There is no doubt Corbyn has brought quite a radical left agenda to British defence and security.
“What would emerge by way of British foreign and defence policy under a Corbyn government is very hard to determine.
“What one sees of Labour policy, it’s pretty unattractive.
“It would certainly complicate what we might be able to do with them in terms of our own bilateral interests.”
