Sussan Ley has defended the former Liberal senator who claims internal opponents have been undermining the opposition leader since she won the position in a party ballot in May.

Ley did not contradict Hollie Hughes’ claims of sabotaged from within when asked, and instead spoke fondly of the former senator, who on Tuesday told 2GB she quit the party in protest over Ley’s treatment , and

“Hollie is a dear friend, I’ve known her for 25 years. We were passionate, rural liberals. We still are, and the work that she’s done in children, in families and for communities – we’ll miss her in the parliament,” Ley told Today .

Hughes on Tuesday told this masthead: “It’s clear that Sussan has been undermined from day one. And the people who are doing it are the people I spent six years in the par

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