'He headbutted me': Tony Abbott says he was assaulted by yes campaigner

The former Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, has been assaulted in Hobart.

He says he was headbutted by a yes campaigner as he was walking towards his hotel, leaving him with a slightly swollen lip.

He was in Tasmania on Thursday lunching with campaigners who are opposed to same-sex marriage, including his Liberal party colleague Eric Abetz.

Abbott told the story to Steve Price and Sky News host Andrew Bolt on Melbourne’s 3AW radio on Thursday.

“I was walking from the Mercury office across that docks area, that beautiful docks area in Hobart, towards my hotel,” Abbott said.

“A fellow sung out at me ‘Hey Tony!’ I turned around, there was a chap wearing a Vote Yes badge. He says ‘I wanna shake your hand’. I went over to shake his hand and then he headbutted me.

“Now he wasn’t very good at it I’ve gotta say, but he did make contact. The only damage was a very, very slightly swollen lip.

“I was with a member of my staff [who] briefly grappled with this guy, and he then ran off swearing his head off basically.

“It was just a reminder of how ugly this debate is getting,” he said.

His spokesman said the incident occurred while he was walking in the street and he sustained minor injuries.

“He didn’t have a blood nose or break his nose or anything like that,” the spokesman said, before refusing to elaborate on the incident or injuries.

Malcolm Turnbull called Abbott as soon as he heard about the incident and left a voicemail, according to a spokesman.

He also called Andrew Colvin, the commissioner of the Australian Federal Police.

Price said Abbott was lucky to have a witness to the assault because some yes campaigners would accuse him of making the story up if he didn’t.

“Oh without a doubt,” Bolt said.

Alex Greenwich MP, the co-chair of The Equality Campaign, has condemned the attack.

“There is absolutely no place for violence in the marriage equality debate. This is about treating people fairly and with respect & dignity,” he said on Twitter.

“Marriage equality is about respect and dignity for every Australian ... our campaign has always and will continue to call for respect and everyone involved in this debate to act in a respectful and dignified way,” he said in a separate statement.

Bolt later talked about the incident on his Thursday evening Sky News program, utterly condemning the attack.

• Australian Associated Press contributed to this report