Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he had raised an additional allegation with Senator Van in making the decision to expel him from the Liberal party room.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe on Wednesday, under parliamentary privilege, accused Senator Van of harassment and sexual assault, allegations he strongly denied.

Former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker on Thursday accused Senator Van of inappropriately touching her at a 2020 event.

Asked on Friday if he was aware of further allegations against the now-crossbench senator, Mr Dutton replied: “Yes.”

“I raised another allegation with Senator Van, but I’m not going to comment in relation to those matters otherwise,” he told Nine’s Today program.

“I made a decision yesterday based on all of the information that was available to me … that’s a decision I don’t regret at all.

“I believe it is in the best interests of the Liberal Party and that’s what I have acted upon and I don’t want Senator Van sitting in our party room. I have made that clear.”

Mr Dutton said the alleged behaviour was unacceptable.

“The thought of sexual assault against any woman in the workplace is not something that I would tolerate,” he said.

“It’s been an issue in the press gallery, been an issue in Parliament House and obviously … I’ve referred the matters to that independent workplace authority for investigation.”

In a statement, Ms Stoker said Senator Van “inappropriately touched me at an informal social gathering in a parliamentary office” in November 2020.

“He did so by squeezing my bottom twice,” she said.

“By its nature and by its repetition, it was not accidental.

“That action was not appropriate. It was unprofessional and uninvited.”

Senator Van said he had no recollection of the incident, telling News.com.au he had a “friendly” chat with Ms Stoker after her complaint and he would never have inappropriately touched her.

Van said in a statement he was “utterly shattered” by the events of the past few days and was stunned his reputation could be “so wantonly savaged without due process or accountability”.

“I will fully cooperate with whatever process Mr Dutton proposes to determine these matters as quickly and fairly as possible,” he said.

“While I understand the public interest is high, I will not be making any more public statements on the allegations until a proper examination of these claims is concluded.”

Ms Stoker’s allegation made on Thursday refers to an incident in November 2020, where she said Senator Van inappropriately touched her at an informal social gathering at Parliament House.

Ms Stoker said she held a meeting following the alleged incident and had accepted Senator Van’s apology.

She said while she wanted the incident to be kept confidential, she said that view was “no longer tenable” in the wake of Senator Thorpe’s statement.