The Prime Minister’s office has confirmed WeChat’s parent company Tencent has been in contact, after months of snubbing.

Scott Morrison’s office had repeatedly tried to contact the company, including its chief executive, since July 2021 after the PM lost control of his WeChat account.

On Monday, a spokesman for Mr Morrison said a Tencent executive had contacted the office on January 24, after the story went public.

“The Prime Minister’s office is now in direct discussions with the company about the matter and looks forward to a resolution,” the spokesman said.

Liberal senator James Paterson, who chairs parliament’s intelligence and security committee, said blocking Mr Morrison’s account was sanctioned by the Chinese government and amounted to foreign interference.

“What the Chinese government has done by shutting down an Australian account is foreign interference of Australian democracy in an election year,” he told 2GB.

The office didn’t confirm whether any referrals to intelligence agencies were made when access to the account was lost.

– AAP