Australian minister Bob Carr

Source: BBC

Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr has described comments made by Baroness Thatcher as “unabashedly racist”.

In a conversation with her “in her retirement”, Mr Carr said the former UK prime minister had warned Australia against Asian immigration.

She said “if we allowed too much of it we’d see the natives of the land, the European settlers, overtaken by migrants”, he said.

Lady Thatcher, 87, died on Monday after suffering a series of strokes.

Mr Carr made his comments on the Australian broadcaster ABC’s Lateline programme.

He said he had been “astonished” at the comments by Lady Thatcher, which were made while his Malaysian-born wife Helena was “standing not far away” but was “fortunately out of earshot”.

But he said he retained respect for the “boldness of her political leadership”.

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