Senior public servants from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s department has been accused of a “cover up” after failing to answer basic questions about the Government’s knowledge of a cohort of “ISIS brides”.

Officials refused to confirm details about a group of wives and children of Islamic State fighters who have travelled to Australia from Syria during a fiery Senate Estimates session on Tuesday.

It came after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Question Time early last month several media reports on a top-secret operation to return them before Christmas were inaccurate.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong had represented the PM in the session where she dodged repeated questioning about the Government’s knowledge and involvement with the group’s repatriation from the notorious Al-Hawl deten

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