Book won't harm Jones' reputation: PM

Prime Minister John Howard says he regards Alan Jones as a friend and doubts a controversial biography will do the broadcaster's reputation any long-term harm.

The unauthorised biography of Jones, by journalist Chris Masters, hit the bookstands this week after the ABC's publishing arm dumped it following legal threats from the influential Sydney talkback host.

It has caused a storm because of Masters' decision to examine Jones' sexuality, outing the broadcaster as a homosexual.

Mr Howard was more than willing to acknowledge his friendship with Jones.

"I regard him as a friend. I see Alan from time to time socially, he's not somebody who is as close to me as a long-standing family friend but I am quite happy to call Alan a friend," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

Mr Howard expressed disappointment about the way the book depicted his friend.

"I think the way in which the book has been depicted, I think a lot of the innuendo in it is unacceptable," he said.

But he added:"I don't believe this book will damage Alan's reputation.

"The people who don't like him are not going to be other than confirmed in their views and the people who do respect him as a good broadcaster will continue to do so."

He regards the discussion of Jones' sexuality as irrelevant.

"It's not something I discuss with people and I don't really think it's anybody's business," Mr Howard said.

"It seems to me that there was a point made by a writer in the Melbourne Age the other day that if this had been an issue regarding the sexuality of somebody on the centre left there would have been an absolute uproar."

Much has been made in the book of Jones' prolific letter-writing to senior government ministers and the influence his correspondence has had on their decisions.

Mr Howard said Jones was an "old-fashioned, prolific correspondent".

"He likes writing letters," he said.

"He does write a lot of letters to me and I try to respond to them."

But Mr Howard said he also tried to follow up queries from listeners on other talkback programs too.

"Alan does the same thing, he does it more intensively than others do but that is the nature of the bloke," he said.