Warren Entsch contradicts Peta Credlin, claiming he sacked staffer accused of solo sex act for leaking to her

The federal Liberal MP Warren Entsch has emphatically rejected Peta Credlin’s claim that several years ago she was responsible for sacking a Coalition aide dismissed again this week for allegedly masturbating over a female MP’s desk.

Entsch, the member for Leichhardt and former chief opposition whip, told Guardian Australia that not only did Credlin have no input into his decision to sack the staffer in 2012, but in fact he dismissed the aide for an alleged unauthorised leak from his office to Credlin who was then Tony Abbott’s chief of staff.

Alex Somlyay, the chief whip before Entsch, has backed Entsch’s account and added that he had originally hired the staffer on Credlin’s suggestion.

Guardian Australia revealed on Tuesday the man had been employed on and off for more than a decade working for senior Liberal figures. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, later confirmed his employers included the former chief whip Nola Marino in whose office the masturbation incident allegedly took place.

On Wednesday evening, Credlin used her Sky News program to claim that unnamed Liberal staffers held gay orgies in parliament and, separately, that she had sacked the man who lost his job this week several years before.

Credlin alleged: “The man sacked by the Morrison government this week for his disgusting acts on an MP’s desk and its distribution on a little chat group … that bloke – I demanded to be sacked years earlier for disloyalty, for lying, for leaking against his boss.

“Now that bloke, he’s not the same as the man I told you about in the orgies, but the bloke that was sacked this week was someone I sacked many years earlier.”

Credlin claimed she had vowed the man would never be re-employed while she was in the building but he later returned to parliament when Malcolm Turnbull replaced Abbott as prime minister.

Entsch and Somlyay told Guardian Australia the man was hired by Somlyay, then continued his employment in Entsch’s office when Entsch replaced him as whip in 2010.

“Credlin said to try out [the staffer],” Somlyay claimed. “She didn’t sack him, she appointed him … no one else was considered.” Despite describing the alleged masturbation incident as “bloody stupid”, Somlyay recalled that in his employment the staffer was “excellent”.

Entsch said he sacked the man in 2012 claiming “the reason was he leaked information from the whip’s office to the prime minister’s office, to Credlin, and to [the manager of opposition business] Christopher Pyne’s office.”

Entsch said that Labor had requested a pair for Craig Thomson in line with an earlier agreement to automatically grant pairs for family reasons. According to Entsch, the staffer told Abbott and Pyne’s office but not him. The Coalition decided to refuse the pair.

“I was livid,” Entsch said. “That was the reason – the integrity of the whip’s office had been compromised. She did not instruct me. It is fanciful to suggest I would take instruction from anyone, not from the prime minister, let alone from a staff member.”

Entsch said he took “no pride” in the decision – because the staffer was a “very good” aide – but let him go because he had already been warned.

“He was not sacked by [Credlin] – he was sacked because of her,” Entsch claimed, describing Credlin’s comments as “totally unfair on [the staffer]”.

“It’s easy for the vultures to come in and claim the higher ground. But sometimes history then bites you on the arse.”

Somlyay backed Entsch’s version of events, recalling that the staffer had told him he was sacked by Entsch. Entsch said he gave the aide a reference for a job outside Canberra “because he was good at what he did”.

Network Ten on Monday reported allegations that a group of at least four Coalition men shared images and videos of sex acts via Facebook Messenger over a two-year period ending last year. The allegations were based on the account of a whistleblower who admitted to some of the alleged conduct he was detailing on the condition of anonymity.

In question time on Tuesday, Morrison dealt with a question about another claim in the program – that staffers allegedly brought sex workers to parliament “for the pleasure of Coalition MPs” – by revealing it had “referred to a former minister not a current minister”.

Other than the one dismissal, no other disciplinary action has yet been taken against the men because they have not been identified by the government.

On Wednesday evening, Credlin warned the other three staffers in the message group she knew who they were. “I see you,” she said, a warning she repeated to the former minister who allegedly frequented sex workers.

Labor asked in question time on Thursday if Morrison had contacted Credlin to identify the other Coalition staffers.

Morrison replied: “These are very serious matters, and the government is taking it very seriously, and where matters such as this can be pursued, we will, but I don’t think it is helpful to provide a running commentary on such sensitive matters.”

Guardian Australia contacted Credlin for comment about this story. She subsequently responded on Sky News, stating on air that although Entsch might argue he “technically” sacked the aide, in fact, all staffer positions were “vested in the leader”.

“If some of these MPs try to say I didn’t tell them to sack the staffer, that [I didn’t say] he needed to go – they’re kidding themselves.”

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.