Two female Liberal MPs have publicly rejected allegations Scott Morrison is a bully, as the Prime Minister seeks to head off damaging criticism from within his own party.
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Mr Morrison has also claimed to have misspoken when he falsely suggested former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian had denied sending texts in which she labelled him a "horrible, horrible person".
Liberal MPs Sussan Ley and Melissa McIntosh on Wednesday blamed a barrage of criticism of Mr Morrison on "malicious factional players" in the NSW branch.
The Prime Minister was blasted as a "bully" and "unfit for office" by outgoing Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who joined a growing chorus of female politicians taking aim at their federal leader.
Central to Senator Fierravanti-Wells' assault was Mr Morrison's takeover of the NSW Liberal Party, upheld by the courts on Tuesday, enabling him to select NSW-based candidates for the May federal election.
In an interview with 730 on Tuesday evening, Mr Morrison claimed the takeover was designed to protect female candidates from a factional war in the state branch.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley, whose pre-selection was secured by the intervention, on Wednesday released a statement rebuffing criticism of her leader.
"I have known Scott Morrison for over 20 years and seen the person in front of the camera and the person behind the scenes," she said.
"The recent political pile on the Prime Minister could not be further from the reality of the leader I have worked closely with."
Mr Morrison's credibility has come under fire in recent months after a host of colleagues - ranging from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to French President Emmanuel Macron - labelled him a liar.
Senators Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson have also backed Senator Fierravanti-Wells' assessment of the Prime Minister as a "bully", while NSW Liberal MP Catherine Cusack publicly stated she would not vote for the federal party under Mr Morrison.
But in what appeared a coordinated effort with Ms Ley, Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh also went public to claim Mr Morrison protected her from "malicious factional players" who had threatened her pre-selection.
Ms McIntosh said she could "not ignore the nonsense going on right now" and rejected the allegations as "wrong".
"For aggrieved people, all of whom are the factional players who started all of this, to now be attacking the Prime Minister in public with what are false claims is wrong and needs calling out," she said.
"I am speaking out to call out these unfair attacks on the Prime Minister. He has only ever done the right thing by me and our party, and he has done nothing but stand up for me as a first-term female MP. I couldn't ask for more than that from a leader."
In his 730 interview, Mr Morrison falsely claimed Gladys Berejiklian had denied describing him as a "horrible, horrible person" in leaked text messages to a cabinet minister.
The former NSW premier in fact said she could "not recall" the exchange, in which she also accused Mr Morrison of "spreading lies" about her during the Black Summer bushfires.
"I should have said she didn't recollect them ... All I know is I haven't seen them. And that's not her view about the way we work together. I think she's been very clear about that," he said.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese described it as another example of Mr Morrison saying "things which are demonstrably not true".
"It's beyond my comprehension why he continues to do that ... I know Gladys Berejiklian, and I think she is a straight talker," he said.
"She made a damning statement about the Prime Minister, about his character, and in particular about him caring more about politics than he did about people during the bushfire crisis."