Malcolm Turnbull’s publisher has fired off a legal warning to a top aide in the Morrison government claiming a “massive” breach of copyright over the former prime minister’s new book.

Furious at the spread of pirated copies of the e-book to people within the government, publishing company Hardie Grant sent the demand on Saturday night claiming “malicious conduct” by the staff member in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The move came hours after the publisher was alerted to the distribution of the electronic version of the book to government staffers and at least one Liberal MP, days before the e-book becomes available to paying readers on Monday.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne confirmed the existence of the leaked e-book during an interview on ABC's Insiders program on Sunday morning, saying she had "received and deleted" it.