Allan Hird spoke to 3AW radio about a range of issues including a “conspiracy” between the Gillard Government, the AFL and the Essendon board to make his son the “scapegoat” of the supplements scandal.

Mr Hird was scathing in his assessment of the AFL’s treatment of James and said he hoped the “truth” regarding the supplements scandal would become public knowledge.

“They’re bullies,” Mr Hird told 3AW on Tuesday morning.

“I think they had some dignity and some integrity, but they haven’t got a moral compass.

 “What I do want is for the truth to come out about Essendon in (2012) and what’s still happening to them because of, what I see, as … a conspiracy between the Gillard government, the AFL and elements of the Essendon board, plus the Australian Anti-Doping Authority to get a result for something, to get everyone out of a hole.

“One of the early decisions that (former Essendon president) David Evans went along with (former AFL chief executive) Andrew Demetriou and ASADA and the Gillard government was to make Jim the scapegoat of this, which he became right from the start.

“They announced Essendon’s guilt through the media before ASADA started its investigation.

“Jim fought all the way through, for his own integrity throughout this. He never allowed him to make him a scapegoat, he never accepted he was the scapegoat.

 “He put too much trust in the club doing the right thing. He put too much trust in the AFL. He put too much trust in our system of government.

“If he had his time again, he would have done it differently.”