Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is resisting calls to sack George Brandis after the Attorney-General was accused of throwing former treasurer Joe Hockey "under a bus" to distance himself from a deepening legal scandal.

Senator Brandis was forced to deliver a statement in Parliament on Monday amid explosive reports he directed former solicitor-general Justin Gleeson, SC, not to raise an argument in the High Court that threatened an alleged secret deal with the Western Australian government.

The alleged deal, involving Alan Bond's failed Bell Group of companies, allowed the conservative WA government to leapfrog creditors including the Tax Office to claw back almost $1 billion from the companies.

Labor accused Senator Brandis of corruption after reports emerged that the Attorney-General directed Mr Gleeson not to point to legal flaws in the plan when it was challenged in the High Court by other creditors.