ACTOR Mel Gibson was once involved in providing support for a friend who was member of a far-right group in Australia known for its antisemitic views, according to newspaper reports.

The actor, who last week allegedly harangued police with an antisemitic outburst after being arrested on suspicion of drunk driving California, was said to have campaigned for Robin Taylor, a member of the Australian League of Rights, who stood unsuccessfully for a local government seat in northern Victoria in 1987.

A former director of the group, which denies that the Holocaust occurred, claimed in the Melbourne-based Sunday Herald Sun that Gibson and his father, Hutton, were interested in the extremist group's ideas.

Charles Pinwall said: "They were never members of the league, no. But we never really recruited members, just support. [Gibson and his father] were interested in some of our ideas.