Malcolm Turnbull memoir: I was much more graphic, says Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd says he delivered a more ‘graphic’ verbal assault on Malcolm Turnbull after accusing him of ‘backflipping’ on his bid for the UN top job.

Former PM Kevin Rudd. Picture: Kym Smith

Kevin Rudd has not denied calling Malcolm Turnbull a “little f..king rat” but says he delivered an even more “graphic” verbal assault on the former prime minister after accusing him of “backflipping” over Mr Rudd’s 2017 bid to become UN secretary-general.

Mr Rudd yesterday responded on Twitter to Mr Turnbull’s recounting of a telephone conversation in which Mr Rudd also referred to him as a “piece of shit” for what he believes was reneging on a deal to back his UN job bid.

“Once again, Malcolm sanitises the truth. I was much more graphic than that,” Mr Rudd tweeted.

“The bottom line is: Turnbull urged me to run for UN secretary-general, he authorised (Julie) Bishop to mount a full diplomatic campaign and then, at the final moment, he executed a 180-­degree backflip under pressure from (Peter) Dutton and (Scott) Morrison.

“That’s the unvarnished truth of what happened.”

Mr Turnbull says then opposition leader Bill Shorten and foreign minister Ms Bishop supported Mr Rudd’s bid for the UN but Mr Morrison persuaded him not to back the idea. He reveals that Mr Morrison had warned Mr Turnbull that if he went ahead with it, he would “own the catastrophe”.

Mr Rudd and Mr Turnbull had engaged in a public stoush over who said what and what promises were made after Mr Turnbull eventually decided not to support Mr Rudd’s nomination.

Mr Turnbull says he had been subjected to a “torrent of obscenities” from the former Labor prime minister, who he says had threatened to come back to Australia and actively campaign against his re-election.

Ms Bishop was sent to calm Mr Rudd, having argued in favour of nominating him in the interests of bipartisanship but in the belief that he would fail to win enough support from other countries to be successful.