SOUTH Australian political heavyweight Senator Nick Xenophon has described the dual-citizenship scandal as a “festering farce”, after confirmation last night he is a British citizen.

The South Australian political heavyweight’s future hangs on a High Court ruling after he discovered last night he is a dual Australian-British citizen by descent, as a result of his father emigrating to Australia from a British territory.

Senator Xenophon, the son of a Cyprian father and Greek mother, will not resign from parliament, and says he will continue to vote in the Senate, calling his case “a rare peculiarity”.

“The legal advice I have had is that I should just keep calm and carry on and wait for the High Court to determine this,” he told the Nine network on Sunday. He said the citizenship issue that brought up the eligibility of seven MPs and senators has become a mess.

“It’s interesting that my political opponents would have spent many hours and days digging this up and doing the research,” he said.

“I think no wonder so many Australians hate so many politicians because they are too busy trying to knock each other off than fixing the nation’s problems.” It comes after Deputy Nationals Leader Fiona Nash revealed on Friday she was a UK citizen by descent. She’ was the third member of Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet to be affected.

The parliament has already referred National senator Matt Canavan, Greens senators Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam and One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts, as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce to the court The High Court will undertake the first hearing on Thursday but it could be months before it makes a decision.

Mr Joyce’s situation puts the Government’s majority of one seat in the House of Representatives at risk should there be an adverse ruling by the High Court.

Senator Xenophon said Mr Joyce’s decision not to stand down is causing disruption on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“It would probably be simpler for the Government if the ministers stood aside but it’s really a political issue, not a legal issue,” he later told Sky News.

“That is what has fuelled the political fire here, the fact that one National minister (Senator Canavan) stepped aside, the others didn’t.”

Senior National MP Darren Chester conceded it had been a “rotten few weeks”. “We need to be better at our vetting process when people nominate to be a candidate,” he told the Nine network.

The Federal Transport Minister agreed with Senator Xenophon’s thoughts about Labor staffers or others beavering behind the scenes to try and uncover things about him, saying it reflected poorly on the opposition.

“Rather than indulge in the dark arts and shifty behind the scenes, Bill Shorten and his crew need to be up front.”

Blimey Xenophon confirms he is a Pom

Last night, on learning he was a British citizen, Mr Xenophon said he would refer himself to the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, when parliament resumes in two weeks time and says he will continue to vote in the Senate.

“When the parliament resumes in a little over a fortnight I will seek the support of the Senate to refer myself to the High Court sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns,” he said.

“I have sought legal advice from an authoritative constitutional law barrister, and it is appropriate that I keep working hard for South Australians in the Senate until the case is determined later this year.”

The issue facing the senator is that his father, Theo Xenophou, travelled to Australia on British Colonial travel documents in 1951.

Cyprus became independent to the United Kingdom on 16 August 1960 and every Cypriot lost their colonial UK citizenship status.

However, because Mr Xenophou was at the time living in Australia (one of nine countries declared under the then British Nationality Act) he and his children retained dual British citizenship.

Senator Xenophon’s father Theo declined to comment yesterday but his son said: “The great irony here is that my father left Cyprus in order to escape British Colonial rule.”

He said the Home Office had told him the whole scenario is a “rare peculiarity”.

“It seems that being born in Australia, according to 1948 UK legislation, makes me a colonial Pom.

“It is something that has stunned me and my 86 year old father.”

The revelation caps off a tough week for the senator whose SA Best Party is set to play a major role in the upcoming State Election.

On Thursday, his fledgling SA Best party was rocked by the snap resignation of its only sitting member of Parliament, just seven months from the state election.

Yesterday he woke to reports Nick Xenophon Team member, and Federal member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie will no longer support the government on the matters of confidence and supply because Malcolm Turnbull had not kicked Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Regional Development Minister Fiona Nash out of Cabinet.

Senator Xenophon yesterday downplayed the comments.

“She has said in her view because a precedent was set with Senator (Matt) Canavan stepping down from the ministry she though it preferable that Barnaby Joyce step down from the Ministry but she has made it clear that confidence and supply for the government is not an issue,” he said.

Ms Sharkie did not return the Sunday Mail’s calls yesterday.

Senator Xenophon, who described his citizenship category as a “colonial relic” that needed to be addressed by the Australian Parliament, found an unlikely ally in SA Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis.

“I have a lot of sympathy for Nick because I think he wasn’t expecting to be a British citizen,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“He did everything he could to renounce any entitlement he had to Cypriot or Greek citizenship.

“I’m not even sure he knew he was entitled to this but the High Court will sort all this out.”

But South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson took to Twitter suggesting she had less sympathy for Senator Xenophon’s predicament.

“Our Greens Senators did the right thing by standing down after discovering they were dual citizens. It’s the law,” she said.

Australian Conservatives South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi said there was “a huge cloud hanging over Parliament” that needs to be resolved.

“I just don’t see any option but for the Parliament to be prorogued (terminate the session of Parliament) until the results of the High Court challenges are resolved,” Senator Bernardi said.

Senator Xenophon suggested Labor had been working behind the scenes to flush out the citizenship issue.

The High Court will determine whether Deputy Nationals leader Fiona Nash, Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, senator Matt Canavan, One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, and former Greens senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters, who have already resigned, are disqualified under section 44 of the constitution, which bans dual nationals.

The court will hold a directions hearing in Brisbane on Thursday.