Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defended Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd against claims he jeopardised the hunt for Osama Bin Laden by confirming the arrest of a Bali bomber.
Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency has reportedly claimed Mr Rudd "shattered" a confidence by publicly confirming the March arrest of Bali bomber Umar Patek.
An ISI spokesman has told News Limited Mr Rudd's confirmation of the arrest - in the same town bin Laden was killed this week - could have put the US operation against the al-Qaeda leader at risk.
"We're the ones who arrested him and we shared that information with them in confidence, and that confidence we found was shattered when they immediately went public with the information," the spokesman was quoted as saying.
Ms Gillard on Friday rejected the criticism.
"The minister acted entirely appropriately," she told reporters.
"The minister spoke about this matter after receiving advice from Australian security agencies and when it was already being comprehensively reported in the media."
Share
