Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claims he was dumped by his own party because he was on track to defeat Labor leader Bill Shorten.

Speaking to the BBC overnight, Mr Turnbull offered his view on why he lost the leadership.

“As I said at the time it was essentially a form of madness that occurred, whipped up internally and also amplified by voices in the media,” he said.

“Basically, you could argue that their concern was not that I’d lose the election but rather that I’d win it.”

Host Andrew Neil called out the remarks, saying “that’s not credible” and reminding him the government had lost 40 consecutive Newspolls.

But Mr Turnbull stuck by his claim, saying the Coalition “had essentially drawn even” in the polls.

“Normally when you replace a leader, you replace the unpopular person, whose fate is sealed, with somebody who is much more popular and gives you a chance at winning,” Mr Turnbull said.

“That was not what happened.

“The party, on any of the objective indications, is polling in a worse position that it was in August, I mean you can’t deny that’s a fact.”