Ita Buttrose has denied seeking to have Antoinette Lattouf taken off air at the ABC, despite the then-chairwoman of the national broadcaster endorsing complaints that the presenter was a pro-Palestinian activist.

Cross-examined in the Federal Court on Tuesday, Ms Buttrose suggested Ms Lattouf should not have been hired, a failure she ascribed to lack of “background checks” which would have established she was a “controversial broadcaster” and “activist”.