The Australian government allowed its former ambassador to the UK, Alexander Downer, to take part in a “highly unusual” meeting with FBI agents in 2016 to share evidence he possessed about Russian meddling in the US presidential election campaign, according to new reports.
It was a breach of diplomatic protocol – which came after “tense deliberations” between Washington and Canberra – that helped to lay the foundations for the special counsel investigation into allegations of collusion between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, according to the New York Times.
