Anthony Albanese became agitated when asked about the public being kept in the dark about a caravan packed with explosives that was possibly intended as a terror plot targeting Jews.

The Prime Minister was defensive when he was pressed on whether the Australian public and state premiers should have been given more information about the anti-Semitic discovery in Sydney‘s north-west.

‘What’s correct protocol is making sure that we don’t speak about operational matters,’ he told reporters on Friday morning.

‘This should not be the source of political debate, and that I note that the Coalition have said, as well, that they wouldn’t change the protocols that have been in place for a long period of time.

‘The idea that you make public pronouncements about something that is an ongoing investigation is, of course, entirely inappropriate because as the police have made very clear, both state and federal, the priority is those ongoing investigations.’

A caravan – filled with explosives and notes with the address of a Sydney synagogue – was discovered by police at Dural in Sydney’s north-west on January 19, but the information wasn’t revealed to the public until Wednesday after a leak to the media. 

This was 10 days after a member of the public reported the caravan to police.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has argued national cabinet should have at least been told, following revelations they weren’t.

But following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney, Mr Albanese argued talking publicly about the latest development would have undermined a police investigation.

‘I have no intention of undermining an ongoing investigation by going into the details of what I will do,’ he said. 

Tammie Farrugia and her boyfriend Scott Marshall are in custody charged with unrelated offences, with police saying their arrests were made on the ‘periphery’ of the case.

The couple sought a caravan last month via a Facebook post.

Farrugia and Marshall have not been charged in relation to the caravan and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

Farrugia was arrested over an alleged anti-Semitic attack at Woollahra, in Sydney’s east, in December, while Marshall was charged late last year with weapons and drug offences to which he has pleaded not guilty.

They do not appear to have any history of extremist ideology, which might support Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw’s warning that overseas actors could be paying petty criminals to carry out anti-Semitic attacks. 

The Sydney Hills District resident who reported the caravan to police was concerned that it posed a safety risk to passing cars because it was close to the road.

The Dural man thought it had been abandoned and towed the caravan on to his property before discovering its contents.

The explosive, known as Powergel and often using in mining, had the capacity to produce a 40m blast wave, but was not wired to explode, police said.

New South Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said he was ‘not happy’ that details of the investigation were leaked to the media.

He said caravan had initially been seen on the side of the road on December 7 but was towed to a nearby property on January 19.