The disgraced politician whose romance with Gladys Berejiklian brought on her resignation as NSW premier has defended his record after damning corruption findings.

A six-year investigation by the NSW corruption watchdog into Daryl Maguire last week found he repeatedly used his public office to enrich himself and should be considered for criminal prosecution.

The probe found both he and Ms Berejiklian had acted corruptly, in part by keeping their six-year “close personal relationship” secret until it was exposed at an Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing in late 2020.

On Monday, Mr Maguire issued a two-page statement through his lawyers detailing his achievements in office and stressing the presumption of innocence should be respected.

“Let it not be forgotten that during his time representing the people of Wagga and region (sic) he worked tirelessly for his constituents,” the statement said.

“Indeed, he was described in evidence as a dog with a bone, a vociferous advocate for the electorate or a pain in the arse when it came to getting improvements for the Wagga electorate.”

Intercepted tapes played during ICAC hearings showed Mr Maguire had discussed his struggles to get a $170 million upgrade to the Tumut Hospital.

“I will deal with it, I will fix it,” Ms Berejiklian said.

But Mr Maguire said funding for both Tumut and Wagga hospitals was long overdue and made with departmental support.

His “tenacity and sheer dogged determination” resulted in the upgrades, he said.

“Again, his support was entirely without any expectation of any personnel (sic) benefit,” the statement said.

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Mr Maguire also hit out at some in the media for illegally flying drones over his property and invading the privacy of him, his family and young women working for him.

Several ICAC findings against Mr Maguire relate to a networking firm called G8wayInternational, which Maguire and his associates fired up a year after the Coalition won the 2011 election. He also allegedly ran a fraudulent cash for visa scheme.

After the release of the ICAC findings, NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman lambasted his former Wagga colleague for bringing “disgrace upon the parliament”.

Senior Liberal figures have meanwhile dismissed or played down findings against Ms Berejiklian, emphasising there was no suggestion she sought or gained a financial benefit when in a secret relationship with Maguire.

“She chose a bum, basically, and he was a bad guy,” federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told Nine.

“She’s not a corrupt person.”

Despite the findings, ICAC has recommended no charges against Ms Berejiklian. It has referred Mr Maguire for possible misconduct in public office charges between 2012 and 2018.

Mr Maguire, 64, already faces criminal charges stemming from conduct exposed at the earlier ICAC inquiry, including for giving false and misleading evidence to the inquiry.

– AAP