Abbott says no need for Slipper witch-hunt

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says there is no need for an inquiry into the collapsed case against former speaker Peter Slipper, saying any such probe would only end up as a "witch-hunt".

Mr Abbott was speaking for the first time since a Federal Court judge ruled that the sexual harassment case, brought against Mr Slipper by one of his staff, James Ashby, was an abuse of process designed to cause "significant public, reputational and political damage".

Justice Steven Rares said he believed the case was designed to further the political interests of the Liberal National Party (LNP) and Mal Brough, who has been preselected as the Coalition's candidate in Mr Slipper's Sunshine Coast electorate of Fisher.

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