Times Past: 29 February, 1992

Mr Keating had said that Britain had failed to defend Singapore and Malaysia properly and had tried to keep Australian troops in the Middle East, rather than allowing them to return to defend Australia against the Japanese.

Asked on radio whether he had any apologies for his comments, Mr Keating said, "Absolutely not."

He said he was not criticising the British government or modern Britain, but he repeated his accusation that Britain had left Australia to defend itself during World War II.

British politicians lashed out at Mr Keating, one calling him "an utter buffoon" and another saying Australia was "a country of ex-convicts so we should not be surprised".

But Mr Fraser wrote to The Daily Telegraph saying that Mr Keating's speech was full of "inoffensive remarks".

See: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/133933843/15104685#

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