Australian Senator Pauline Hanson meets far‑right activist Tommy Robinson

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson travelled to the United Kingdom on a self‑described “fact‑finding mission”. While there she met convicted far‑right activist Tommy Robinson and participated in a recording for his podcast.

During the meeting Hanson criticized former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s role in ending the White Australia policy and claimed that Australia’s problems began with that change. She also asserted that 100,000 illegal immigrants were in the country, a figure that exceeds official estimates of about 77,700. The encounter has drawn criticism for aligning an Australian politician with a figure convicted of extremist offences.

Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby facilitated the meeting, which was intended to showcase a more “informed, worldly view” to Australian voters.