Underworld figure George Alex has accused the ABC of being on the payroll of colourful business identity “Big” Jim Byrnes after reports linking him to key Islamic State figures.

The ABC’s Four Corners program alleges Mr Alex went on a shooting trip with infamous ISIL recruits Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar weeks before they left to fight in Syria and Iraq.

Mr Alex says the ABC needs to “get off Jim Byrnes’s payroll”.

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“Using Jim Byrnes as a source for information is not investigative journalism,” he told Macquarie Radio outside Downing Centre Local court on Monday.

“It’s disgusting, it’s tacky, they should stick to Sesame Street.”

Mr Alex was at the court for a separate matter on allegations of intimidation.

He refused to confirm or deny the ABC report.

Convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf with his children. Photo: Supplied

The 43-year-old brought Sharrouf and Elomar to a small rural property near Lithgow for what he called “a pick-me-up” shooting trip last November, according to the ABC.

Less than a month later, Sharrouf slipped out of Australia on his brother’s passport. Elomar flew out a few days earlier.

Mr Alex spoke to Four Corners through his lawyer, saying his late business partner Joe Antoun, who has since been murdered, organised the trip.

He had no knowledge convicted terrorist Sharrouf and Elomar were going to Syria and Iraq or what they planned to do, his lawyer said, adding that Mr Alex claimed the party “did very little shooting but had a big barbecue”.

However, police were called to the Glen Davis property after they received a complaint of excessive gunfire.

They arrived to find Sharrouf with a rifle against his shoulder pointing a gun straight ahead of him.

There were large amounts of ammunition on the ground, according to police on the scene.

Mr Alex is currently under investigation by the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption over his role in the construction business and dealings with the construction union.

George Alex denies employing Sharrouf, Elomar

Sharrouf’s mother-in-law, Karen Nettleton, told the royal commission she thought Sharrouf worked as a body guard and debt collector for Alex.

But Alex insisted to Four Corners he never employed Sharrouf or Elomar.

He said his association with the pair came through boxing.

Four Corners has also learnt Alex’s former girlfriend met Sharrouf at the airport the day he left the country en route to Syria.

A government review into the blunder found “human error of the primary line officer in this case was within reasonable tolerances based on the information available to the officer”.

But Four Corners discovered an alert was triggered when Sharrouf passed through immigration with his brother’s passport because his brother had some minor criminal convictions.

This did not stop Sharrouf’s departure.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said rigorous new arrangements were being rolled out to tighten airport procedures and monitor national security watch lists.