Nampijinpa Price accuses Liberal colleague of ‘cowardly’ conduct as Ley tries to limit fallout from offensive comments

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price alleged the Liberal party MP Alex Hawke told her staff that she ‘may end up like another female member of the Coalition’ if she did not comply with his requests. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has criticised her Liberal colleague Alex Hawke for “cowardly and inappropriate” conduct against her staff while accusing “agenda-driven” media for taking her comments against the Indian community out of context.

It followed Sussan Ley’s appearance on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, where the opposition leader vowed Price’s comments on Indian migration would not “not be repeated” but side-stepped offering an apology on the senator’s behalf.