“He is heterosexual. He is heterosexual,” says Inge Slipper as a forlorn Peter Slipper peers over her shoulder. She may be the last person in Australia not to have abandoned this man. Even his tormentors have deserted him to fight for their own survival. But in the hushed foyer of the federal court in Sydney in May, his wife declares: “I love this man and this marriage will survive.”

When the Slipper story broke, Labor strategists were touting the role of News Limited and senior Liberals in this scandal as another Watergate, a plot to destroy the Speaker and perhaps the government by accusing Slipper of the sexual harassment of his gay press adviser James Ashby.

Last December, when Justice Steven Rares of the federal court threw out the case as a politically motivated abuse of process, his decision was greeted with shouts of triumph in Labor ranks. Then the whole thing died.

This has been the great disappearing scandal of Australian politics. But it is about to roar back to life. Online activists have paid more than $50,000 into a fund called the Ashbygate Trust to engage lawyers, journalists and a private detective to investigate how far the plot against Slipper extended inside the opposition.

Any day now the federal court will announce the result of the appeal in May that brought the spectral figures of Slipper and his wife back down to Sydney. Big reputations were back on the line in that close-fought appeal.

Slipper’s former adviser Ashby, humiliated by Rares and facing bankruptcy, was there with his parents and his legal team. His lawyers in the case, Harmers Workplace Lawyers, were back to fight for their reputation and save themselves from costs orders that might run into millions.

But where was Mal Brough? This was a Brough operation. He was Ashby’s key ally. Without him the case may never have got off the ground. Yet the abrasive Queenslander had no public relations man working the foyers and no lawyers at the bar table to try to contest Rares’ grim verdict that he had abused the federal court to advance his own and his party’s political interests.

“I have no concerns whatever,” Brough told me on the phone from his office on the Sunshine Coast. “The court case is a sideshow, an unfortunate sideshow. No one up here is interested in it.”

Tony Abbott also has a stake in the appeal. He has stood by Brough despite his friend being caught trying to hide his role in the campaign to destroy Slipper. Abbott has never criticised his part in the operation. Despite Brough’s lies, he praises his candour: “I want to make it clear that Mal has been very upfront about his involvement in this.”

More details of Brough’s part in this story emerged only days ago as Slipper farewelled parliament with the claim that Brough asked billionaire Clive Palmer to pay Ashby’s court costs. Denials and counter-denials have been flying ever since.

This is such a Queensland story, a ruthless gambit played at the edge of the law for high political stakes. Brough made it happen.

Ashby began his search for political backing early last year as soon as he had evidence that might be construed as sexual harassment. But nothing came of his approach to Mark McArdle, a leading Liberal National party (LNP) politician in Brisbane. Ashby made calls to Julie Bishop’s office and drank beer with Christopher Pyne. Nothing came of that either.

But the minute he saw Brough he found traction.

Going to Brough was an odd course for someone complaining of sexual harassment to take. Instead of confronting Slipper; instead of appealing to the officers of parliament; instead of finding himself a lawyer; instead of going to the police with information about misused Cabcharges, Ashby brought his allegations to Slipper’s sworn political enemy.

That was the same weekend Campbell Newman won his landslide victory over Labor in Queensland last year. Brough didn’t hesitate. The plot against Slipper began immediately. “All I did was to help someone in need,” Brough would later say. “No more, no less.”

'We are fixing the black mark'

Since his glory days in John Howard’s cabinet, Brough had a rough political ride. After losing his seat in the Ruddslide of 2007, he quarrelled fiercely with his Queensland colleagues over the formation of the LNP. The former army man and champion of the Northern Territory intervention then abandoned the party, politics and the state.

Many in the Liberal party were happy to see him go. Brough is not widely liked on his side of politics. There are those who think him lazy, unlikable and arrogant, a man with his best political years behind him. But Brough has always enjoyed the support of two powerful patrons: Howard and Abbott.

He found he could not stay away from politics. Child prodigy Wyatt Roy won back his old seat of Longman for the Liberals in 2010, so Brough began stacking the branches next door in Slipper’s Sunshine Coast seat of Fisher. By September 2011 he had the numbers to win the contest when it came.

“Slippery Pete”, as they call him in Queensland, could see the writing on the wall. So could Julia Gillard’s strategist Anthony Albanese who offered this vain, wounded man a glorious exit from politics: a couple of years as Speaker of the House before the curtain came down.

Slipper’s defection from the LNP in late 2011 was one of the great Canberra betrayals. “Slimeball,” someone spray-painted on his electoral office. “Grub”, “Wanker”, “Rsole”. At a stroke, Gillard had increased her government’s majority in the hung parliament and become hostage to Slipper’s shaky reputation.

Brough’s prospects were bright. But as Newman rolled towards victory in March 2012, the LNP began to eye Fisher as a suitable reward for his brilliant strategist James McGrath. The party machine was promoting McGrath as a man of the future, a great parliamentary asset for Canberra, the man that was needed in Fisher.

When Brough took a call from Ashby around this time, he had every reason to be wary. He knew the young man had resigned only months before from the LNP to work for the turncoat Speaker. He also knew he was making YouTube videos for businesswoman Peta Simpson, another LNP pre-selection hopeful in Fisher.

But Brough did not hesitate. He said he saw Ashby the day before the Queensland poll and quizzed him first about the Simpson videos: “It wasn't until very late in the piece that he started to put a bit of meat on the bone, so to speak, and say that he felt he had been harassed, and talked about the Cabcharge stuff."

A few days later, under Brough’s direction, Ashby began scouring Slipper’s office records for damaging details of travel expenses to be fed to Telegraph journalist Steve Lewis. Helping Ashby in what Rares would call “a calculated act of disloyalty” was Slipper’s press secretary, Karen Doane.

In his judgment Rares wrote: “Objectively, the conduct of Mr Ashby in relation to Ms Doane, Mr Brough and Mr Lewis … is consistent with Mr Ashby working towards a politically damaging attack on Mr Slipper. That conclusion is reinforced by the absence of any indication in the text messages recorded on Mr Ashby’s phone that indicate that he had expressed any concern, let alone distress, about any sexually harassing behaviour by Mr Slipper.”

By midweek, the material was reaching Brough. “Can that be emailed James it is hard to read,” he messaged on the Thursday. “Done,” Ashby replied. “Coming thru in minutes.” He added: “Will need to get daily print outs tomorrow with greater detail.” Brough passed it to Lewis.

The Telegraph’s man was a hated figure in Slipper’s office. Lewis was pursuing the old story of Slipper’s extravagances. Only a week earlier the Speaker had cried effusively: “Can I kiss you both?” after Ashby and Doane thwarted another Lewis expose. “No,” Ashby replied loudly.

Now the two staffers were giving Lewis a hand. They made direct contact with the journalist more or less at once. The mining of Slipper’s travel diary went on for a fortnight. Brough stayed in the loop.

Brough had promised to find Ashby legal advice. The man he turned to was David Russell QC, a big figure in Coalition politics. Russell and Brough had been on the same side of the brawls over the formation of the LNP. After the merger, Russell became a federal vice-president of the Liberal party.

The QC suggested Brough bring Ashby to his house on the Sunshine Coast on Good Friday morning. He would not act for Ashby but he would take a look at his material, “just to make sure that it is not all completely hopeless or shouldn’t be pursued”.

Ashby and Doane were excited by the news. “The barrister’s ties to the LNP,” Doane messaged Ashby, “will tip the govt to Mal’s and the LNP’s advantage. Definitely a good move for us to meet with him so he gets to know us rather than w the black mark from being with Peter!!”

Ashby replied: “I totally agree. We are fixing the black mark …”

Russell was not an expert on the law of sexual harassment but he had the person to turn to: Rachel Francois, a junior barrister on the floor of his Sydney chambers who represented Kristy Fraser-Kirk in her $37m claim against David Jones in 2010. The solicitors briefing her in that spectacular case were Harmers Workplace Lawyers.

Russell spoke to Francois and Brough. Brough had another meeting with Ashby. According to Ashby’s spokesman Anthony McClellan, “Brough mentioned that he knew a lawyer who was involved in the DJ’s case.”

Ashby rang Harmers before Easter. One of the senior partners rang him back. An appointment was made for the following week. But first Brough drove Ashby and Doane to the Sunshine Coast to see Russell. Oddly enough, given Francois’s work in his chambers, the QC would say he did not know of Harmers until Ashby mentioned the name that morning.

“I was unaware of the firm but looked up the Harmers Workplace Lawyers website on my iPad,” he said in an affidavit to the federal court. He told Ashby: “I don’t think you would be wasting your money by going to them and having a chat about what you should do.”

Clive Palmer’s Coolum Sands resort is in the seat of Fisher. At this time the billionaire was a life member of the LNP. Over Easter, Brough had breakfast with Palmer at the resort. Joe Hockey joined them but was not a party to the request Brough made: that Palmer fund Ashby’s litigation.

When Slipper revealed this only weeks ago, his version of events was backed by a spokesman for Palmer, Andrew Crook: “I can confirm that during a meal at the Palmer Coolum resort, Mr Palmer, Mal Brough and Joe Hockey the matter of financing James Ashby case was raised [sic]. Mr Palmer declined.”

The Guardian has confirmed that remains Palmer’s position. But Brough told the Guardian: “I asked no one for financial assistance.”

News Limited flew Ashby down to Sydney to see Steve Lewis and the lawyers. The lawyers were to prove extraordinarily generous. Ashby’s case would be handled personally by the head of the firm, Michael Harmer, who was willing to take on the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the commonwealth on a no win, no fee basis. The case might cost millions. The damages would be lucky to run to $30,000.

McClellan told the Guardian that Harmers backed Ashby because the firm has a deep commitment to social justice: they were taking on another fight for the little guy. McClellan agreed that a win for Ashby would be a feather in the firm’s cap.

The lawyers and Lewis worked for 10 days. McClellan was brought in to handle the press. Brough was in contact with Ashby and Doane throughout, keen to have updates, anxious to talk, wanting to know when the action would begin. Up in Brisbane, he was trying to find a job for Doane either with Clive Palmer or the LNP president and transport magnate, Bruce McIver. Brough wrote: “Her resume is very impressive.”

Time was running out. All through these weeks of plotting, Slipper had been travelling in state through Europe and America as the Speaker of the Australian parliament. He was about to fly home from New York. He had no inkling of what was happening back home.

Harmers modelled its strategy on the case that made it famous. David Jones was hit at the start very publicly with everything in the hope, as McClellan explained, that court action could be avoided by the swift offer of a large settlement.

Harmers decided that instead of a curt formal document, the application filed in the federal court would set out the allegations against the Speaker in full. Whatever forensic purpose that might serve, it meant a mass of excruciating detail would be immediately available to the press.

Harmers also decided to include in the application allegations of possibly criminal misuse of Cabcharge vouchers. Ashby was said to be considering telling the police he had watched the Speaker breaking the rules on paying for official travel. Rares called this “an abuse of the process of the court”.

Also included in the document was a description of a 2003 video which apparently shows Slipper urinating out of a window and lying on a bed with a man. Rares called the inclusion of this “scandalous, oppressive and vexatious and an abuse of Mr Harmer’s professional obligations to the court as a lawyer”.

Slipper was to be given no warning. Harmers argued the matter was too urgent to take the usual first step of seeking conciliation. Rares would find “no basis” for such a claim.

And the case would be timed to break while the Speaker was out of the country. All in all, Rares concluded that the Harmers strategy for commencing the proceedings was designed “to expose Mr Slipper to the maximum degree of vilification, opprobrium, sensation and scandal and cause maximum damage to his reputation to the political advantage of the LNP and Mr Brough”.

The Slippers were in Times Square admiring the lights when Harmers filed the application in Sydney. Harmers sent word to the Speaker about 2am New York time. Slipper was sleeping three hours later when Lewis emailed: “Peter – can u pls call me urgently … We are running a story involving allegations of sexual harassment – the allegations coming from one of your staff members … There are also allegations of potential fraud against the commonwealth, according to court documents. Phone me asap.”

‘An abuse of the court’

Lewis’s story ruined Slipper. Among the highlights he quoted from the Speaker’s text messages to his media adviser was gay talk of “twinks” and “bears” and invitations to Ashby to “be closer” and smutty innuendo about “getting rocks off” and the query: “U want something more? U brillianmt at massages.”

The damage to the Gillard government was profound. The Coalition also ran for cover. Pyne changed his story as emails to and from Ashby emerged. Bishop chose her words carefully. Abbott denied any Coalition role in the affair: “No one that I am aware of had any specific knowledge of this prior to reading the newspapers.”

Brough lied to Brisbane’s Sunday Mail. “Mal Brough, the former Howard government minister who hopes to re-enter politics in Peter Slipper's Queensland seat, has denied having prior knowledge of the sexual harassment claims dogging his political enemy,” reported the paper.

“Mr Brough, campaigning in local council elections on the Sunshine Coast yesterday, dismissed any suggestion he knew of James Ashby's affidavit before it was lodged as ‘nonsense’. Mr Brough said he knew Mr Ashby as a local party member but had no prior knowledge of his civil suit.”

When that deception was exposed four days later in the Fairfax press, Brough gave a long and friendly interview to the Australian. Abbott then sprang to his defence and went on doing so as details of Brough’s dealings with Ashby emerged in court documents. The pre-selection contest in Fisher was looming in July.

“I think that he has been very upfront about his involvement,” said Abbott. “He went public with his involvement and I think that, in the end, the pre-selection is a matter for the pre-selectors, but I want to make it clear that Mal has been very upfront about his involvement in this.”

Backing McGrath for pre-selection were most LNP members of parliament, the premier Campbell Newman, Bishop, Malcolm Turnbull and George Brandis. Abbott hung back a little but was still endorsing his candidate’s candour and character. Brough comfortably won the contest.

But months later, he lost heavily in the federal court. When Rares threw out the case against Slipper – the December 2012 decision now under appeal – he castigated Brough. Rarely do courts reproach politicians so bluntly. The judge found Ashby had not been harassed and the true purpose of bringing the case against the Speaker was political.

“Mr Ashby acted in combination with Ms Doane and Mr Brough when commencing the proceedings in order to advance the interests of the LNP and Mr Brough, the judge said, “and the evidence also established that the proceedings were an abuse of the court.”

A shattered man

Rares could not undo Slipper’s ruin. After standing aside when the story broke, he had then been forced to resign the speakership when weird and private reflections on female genitalia – “they look like mussel removed from its shell” – emerged in the evidence. Not even Gillard’s misogyny speech, delivered in his defence and watched by millions around the world, could save him.

Despite his big win in the courts, the government was not going to go out to bat for Slipper. Gillard attacked the Coalition but her heart wasn’t in it. Albanese called for a full inquiry but had little to offer but private comfort – day after day – to the shattered man he had persuaded to be Speaker.

“I have been very concerned about Mr Slipper's health given the enormous pressure he's been placed under,” Albanese told the Guardian. “As Justice Rares found in his judgment, the 'scandalous allegations' reported in the media and then later withdrawn have added to that pressure.”

Abbott gave Brough absolute support. Without even reading Rares’s judgment, he sprang to his defence and rebuffed press suggestions that Brough might now lose his pre-selection. There was to be no political sanction for abusing the courts.

“I think that Mal Brough was perfectly properly endorsed by the Liberal National party,” said Abbott. “He’s been quite transparent and upfront about his involvement and as I said the matter is now subject to appeal.”

Abbott dismissed calls for an inquiry. “The Labor party should accept that there are no conspiracies here. There are no conspiracies whatsoever. I think the Labor party should stop hyperventilating. If the Labor party thinks there’s been some terrible injustice done to Mr Slipper, they should put him back into the Speaker’s chair.”

Abbott’s loyalty to Brough also survived the Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail affair. The leader of the opposition accepted Brough’s assurances that the menu with its crude references to the prime minister’s “big red box” never came out of the kitchen.

The appeal against Rares’s decision was inevitable. It was fought over two days before three senior judges of the federal court: John Gilmour, Antony Siopis and John Mansfield. It is impossible to predict the outcome with any accuracy. They seemed to have some sympathy for Harmers but little for Ashby. Brough was not mentioned. That they will soften Rares’s verdict seems improbable.

Ashby says he wants the chance to fight on and his spokesman McClellan says Harmers Workplace Lawyers will continue to back him all the way on a no win, no fee basis. The firm’s generosity is unending, for Ashby has no real prospect of winning another penny. Slipper is broke.

As things stand now, Harmers and Ashby have been ordered to pay every cent of Slipper’s costs. Ashby is also broke. If he cannot contribute, the court will expect Harmers Workplace Lawyers to pay the lot. Their own costs, plus Slipper’s costs, could come to millions.

For Michael Harmer, far more than money is at stake in the appeal. If he cannot persuade the court to dismiss Rares’s attack on the propriety of his role in this mess, Harmer may find himself in considerable professional difficulties.

Win or lose in the federal court, Slipper faces more pain. His solicitors are suing him for $237,000 in unpaid fees. An ACT magistrate has charged him with three counts of dishonestly using Cabcharges worth $964 to tour Canberra wineries in 2010. He has pleaded not guilty. The trial is set down for December.

One day in May he tried to join Clive Palmer’s new party. Perhaps he had a wild dream that the Palmer United party would back him in a last-ditch defence of Fisher. After about eight hours his membership was cancelled.

Come what may, Peter Slipper exits public life on election day. His place in the House of Representatives will be taken by Mal Brough.