Investigations are under way to determine if Scott Morrison succeeded in having himself sworn in as Opposition Leader while also serving as Prime Minister in the lead-up to the May federal election.

The new front in the probe ordered by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese follows concern among senior ministers that Mr Morrison may have attempted to influence the then opposition Labor Party’s tactics during the election campaign.

“When news of Morrison’s efforts to have himself declared as minister in a range of key portfolios, a number of us who were then opposition frontbenchers, recalled an unsettling online meeting during the campaign,” a senior Albanese Government minister who wished to remain anonymous said.

“We all remembered an online tactics meeting, supposedly with Albo who was isolating at his Sydney home at the time with COVID.

“Yet ‘Albo’ attended the online meeting (main picture) and – after making it plain that he was speaking as Opposition Leader – tried to have us agree to a range of new policy positions including scrapping our promise to set a new emissions reduction target, and to back off our push for a rise in the minimum wage.

“The ‘Albo’ who appeared on screen also told us we should all play up the volatile issue of transgender kids and the participation of transgender individuals in sports. He also urged us to bring back our policies against franking credits and negative gearing.

“Some of us were very suspect of the advice at the time. For starters we were wondering why, if Albo was isolating at home, how come he had so many people in his house and why were they all singing hymns?

“In addition, those of us familiar with Albo’s partner Jodie Haydon wondered why we had never previously noticed her similarity in looks to Jenny Morrison.”

The unnamed minister said the suggestions made by the “fake Albo” were dismissed by the Labor Party’s tactics group.

“Most of us realised that whoever was pretending to be Albo was just trying to sabotage the campaign,” he said.

“Even so, at the time none of us thought it might have been Scott Morrison trying to do that. Most of us thought it was Bill Shorten.”