Van said he was “shattered” by the allegations made by the former Greens senator in parliament on Wednesday and said they were “completely unfounded”.

“I have not harassed her in any way, shape, or form,” he told 2GB on Thursday.

Thorpe has already withdrawn her comments to comply with Senate rules and is expected to make a statement about the incident in parliament on Thursday.

The independent senator made the accusations of Van while he was making a speech accusing the Labor Party of unethical behaviour in its handling of the Brittany Higgins sexual assault allegations.

Thorpe then accused the Liberal senator of harassing and sexually assaulting her, which led to him moving offices to a different location in Parliament House. These comments have since been withdrawn.

Van rejected the allegations in parliament immediately and again in an interview on 2GB, but he did admit to moving offices in 2021 following a complaint made to the coalition leadership that he was following her into the parliamentary chamber.

“To put this on record, she’d made allegations to our leadership, through her leadership, that I was following her into the chamber, which made her feel uncomfortable,” Van said.

He said that was the way politicians filed into the chamber due to the layout of Parliament House.

“And, you know, at times I’d be in front of her and times I’d be behind her, but at no time did I harass her, touch her belly,” he explained.

Van said he then accepted an offer made by then-Senate president Scott Ryan to move to an office further away from Thorpe.

He said the senator should go to the police with any concerns rather than using parliamentary privilege to make such allegations.