Photo: Andrew Wilkie (left) met with the British Opposition Leader ahead of visiting Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison. (ABC News: Andrew Greaves) Photo: Andrew Wilkie (left) met with the British Opposition Leader ahead of visiting Julian Assange at Belmarsh Prison. (ABC News: Andrew Greaves)

UK-USA fallout over Huawei extending to Assange extradition treaty

British Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn says he is surprised over what he sees as a shift in the British Government's position on Julian Assange and the UK's "unbalanced" extradition relationship with the United States.

Key points:

  • Australian MPs have arrived in London ahead of prison meeting with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
  • Andrew Wilkie has met with UK Opposition Leader Jeremy Corbyn
  • Mr Corbyn believes the UK Government's view on its "unbalanced" extradition treaty with the US has shifted

Mr Corbyn made the comments after a meeting with Australian independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who is in London on a privately funded trip to visit the WikiLeaks founder in prison.

The Labour leader told the ABC that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's answers to House of Commons questions about the extradition deal the UK had with the US last Wednesday (local time) were unexpected.

"He accepted that it is an unbalanced treaty and it is not a fair one, therefore I think that is a big change by the British Government," Mr Corbyn said.

In the House, Mr Corbyn had argued that the UK had a "one-sided extradition treaty" with the US and asked Mr Johnson to commit to an "equal and balanced" future relationship.

"I do think that there are elements of that relationship that are unbalanced and I certainly think it is worth looking at," Mr Johnson replied.

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By Samantha Hawley / Europe bureau chief

Samantha Hawley is the ABC's Indonesia bureau chief, former South East Asia correspondent and a former political reporter for AM, PM and The World Today.

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(Source: abc.net.au; February 18, 2020; https://is.gd/vLm66z)
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