A parliamentary inquiry demonstrates that Attorney-General George Brandis is unfit to hold his office and has misled the Senate, Labor says.

A Senate committee examining the bitter public feud between Senator Brandis and the nation’s second law officer has criticised the minister for a “gross infringement on the independence of the Solicitor-General”.

The Labor and Greens-dominated committee was asked to investigate a legal direction issued by Senator Brandis, which restricted access to former solicitor-general Justin Gleeson SC’s expert legal advice.

The committee, which the Coalition has described as a “political witch-hunt”, even cited nursery rhyme character Humpty Dumpty in its critique of Senator Brandis.

The committee, chaired by Opposition senator Louise Pratt, recommended the legal direction should be either disallowed by the Senate or withdrawn immediately by the Attorney-General.

“It gives me no pleasure to affirm to the Senate chamber today that this inquiry has clearly demonstrated the unfitness of the Attorney-General to hold his high office and affirm that he has misled the Senate,” Senator Pratt told the Upper House in tabling the report.

“I note that the definition handed to the committee included a person deliberating with one’s self — perhaps that is what the Attorney-General had in mind.”

The report found:

“The Attorney-General’s actions, in issuing the Direction, represent a gross infringement on the independence of the Solicitor-General, and call into question the professional integrity and judgement of the Attorney-General.”

Senator Brandis has previously raised surprise that the matter had become such a major public issue, while Mr Gleeson said his ability to give the Government and public service frank and fearless advice had been curtailed.

Mr Gleeson argued he had not been consulted on the final form of the legal direction, whereas Senator Brandis said he had — even tabling a copy of the Oxford Dictionary definition of “consult” to prove his point.

Mr Gleeson had also complained he was left out of deliberations on key issues of national importance, such as anti-terror legislation, and resigned on October 2, arguing his relationship with the Attorney-General was “irretrievably broken”.

In tabling the report, Senators poked fun at the Attorney-General for tabling a copy of the dictionary definition of “consult”.

“‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less’,” the report cited.

Coalition senator Ian Macdonald lodged a dissenting report arguing the case was a “political witch-hunt”.

He argued Mr Gleeson’s resignation in the wake of his testimony to the committee showed he knew his position was untenable.

“You could almost say, rather than getting Senator Brandis as they tried to do, they got their own man, and he did the only thing that was open to him and resigned from his position,” Senator Macdonald told the Senate.

Liberal Senator Ian Macdonald was dismissive of “a committee of the Labor party and the Greens, wasting Senate resources on political witch-hunts”.

“The evidence showed that the Solicitor-General had made a couple of, what I will euphemistically say were, unfortunate decisions.

“Senator Brandis did consult, the evidence is there showing the consultation on both the guidance note and the direction, which are in exactly the same words.

“And the Department actually gave advice to the minister that he had consulted in accordance with the Act.

“The majority report pays no attention to the Solicitor-General’s fractious attitude and incomplete evidence.”

Labor will move on Thursday to disallow the Attorney General’s legal direction with the support of the Greens and Nick Xenophon Team.

It’s unlikely any censure would be moved this week as notice has to be given.