Prime Minister Tony Abbott says comments made by Liberal Party campaign strategist Mark Textor related to the Indonesian spying furore are “tacky”.

Mr Textor earlier this week sent a series of tweets, one of which read: “Apology demanded from Australia by a bloke who looks like a 1970s Pilipino (sic) porn star”.

It happened against the background of anger in Indonesia over claims Australian spies had tapped the mobile phones of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and confidants in 2009.

“They were tacky comments and they’ve been withdrawn and apologised for,” Mr Abbott told parliament on Thursday.

Apologies to my Indonesian friends – frustrated by media-driven divisions – Twitter is indeed no place for diplomacy.

— Mark Textor (@markatextor) November 21, 2013

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten had asked Mr Abbott about the matter during question time: “Will the prime minister now review all contracts between the government and Mr Textor’s company?”

Earlier, Mr Textor used Twitter to apologise.

“Apologies to my Indonesian friends – frustrated by media-driven divisions – Twitter is indeed no place for diplomacy,” he wrote.

Mr Textor is the co-founder of CrosbyTextor, a firm specialising in market research, strategic communications and campaign execution, according to its website.