Lisa Wilkinson, Network 10 apologise to Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price

Former Project presenter Lisa Wilkinson has formally apologised to Senator Nampijinpa Price following leaked audio in which struggling to pronounce her name.

In a statement she said: “I sincerely apologise to Senator Price for any offence I may have caused.

“The conversation was private and not intended to appear as it has out of context and in the public arena.

“The tenor of our conversation was about the need for real, genuine change within the Liberal party, and that too many of their female pre-selections were in unwinnable positions.”

Paramount Executive Vice President of Australia New Zealand Beverley McGarvey also personally called the LNP Senator  to apologise on the network’s behalf.

Media reports suggest McGarvey said the discussion of race did not reflect the values the network stood for and that it shouldn’t have happened.

A spokesperson for Network 10 told Guardian Australia Price graciously accepted the apology.

The Network later issued a statement saying the five hour, private conversation had been leaked by an unidentified source and what had been made public was not in context and no comment had been sought prior to publication.

“Network 10 was subpoenaed to provide confidential documents and audio recordings to the DPP and Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team during the criminal case brought against Mr Lehrmann,” the statement read.

“With the criminal proceedings now concluded, there is no justifiable reason for this material to be made public. Network 10 regrets any distress caused by the unauthorised publication of these intended private conversations.”