Australia's ex-prime minister Scott Morrison denies he effectively ran a shadow government during his time in office, saying it was necessary during the pandemic to secretly appoint himself to several ministerial posts. "I believed it was necessary to have authority to have what were effectively emergency powers to exercise in extreme situations", Morrison said at a press conference on Wednesday. The revelations have sparked a political firestorm in Australia, with his successor Anthony Albanese promising a rapid investigation and accusing Morrison of carrying out an "unprecedented trashing of our democracy". SOUNDBITES