Tony Abbott won't apologise to Indonesia over escalating spy scandal as Jakarta recalls its ambassador to Australia PM Tony Abbott says Australia should not be expected to apologise for protecting the nation. TONY ABBOTT has called Indonesia's bluff and says he will refuse to apologise to the Indonesian government for alleged spying activities and the bugging of its President's phone. And he has called for "cool heads" to prevail as Indonesian outrage over the claims escalates. Responding to threats from Indonesia that Australia had until tomorrow to explain why intelligence agencies tapped President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's phone in 2009, Mr Abbott told Parliament today that Australia should never apologise for protecting its citizens. Cool head... The PM in question time today. "In the past 24 hours there have been calls for Australia to detail our intelligence operations and apologize for them," he told Parliament. The first duty of every government is to protect their county...that's why every government gathers information. There is no greater responsibility for a Prime Minister than ensuring the safety of Australian citizens and securing our borders. Australia should not be expected to apologise for the steps we take to protect our country now, or in the past. Australia shouldnt be expected to detail what we do to protect our country any more than other government should expected to detail theirs. Australia has deep respect for Indonesia, its government and for its people. As Ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema left Australia today after being recalled to Jakarta, Indonesia said it was also poised to also expel Australian diplomats from Jakarta as relations sank to their lowest since the live cattle export disaster. And the fallout escalated this morning when the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono tweeted his disapproval of Mr Abbott's response to the claims. The PM said he regreted the embarrassment "recent media reports" caused the Indonesian leader but said cool heads should prevail. Opposition leader Bill Shorten followed Mr Abbott and said Labor supported the PM's commitment to national security. He said Labor would support the Government in handling the issue. The statement by the PM follows the recall of the Indonesian ambassador to Australia in retaliation for the bugging of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife in 2009 by the Defence Signals Directorate. The Indonesian Government had given Australia until tomorrow to provide an official explanation and a guarantee that Australian spies would stop tapping the phones of the country's senior officials and Ministers. The spying claims, revealed in leaked documents taken by former US National Security Agency worker Edward Snowdon suggested that intelligence officials from the Defence Signals Directorate had tapped the mobile phones of Mr Yudhoyono and his wife as well as a host of senior Ministers. It relayed this information to the US NSA through a series of slide shows. It gave little detail of whether it gained any useful intelligence. Mr Snowdown, who is now hiding in Russia, is now being pursued on criminal charges by US authorities.. Indonesian Ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema at Canberra Airport today before leaving for Jakarta. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said from India overnight that she had registered the concerns of Indonesia. "I will certainly take on board the concerns expressed by the Indonesian government," she said. We are aware of their concerns, and we take them exceedingly seriously, but I am not going to comment on intelligence. As diplomatic tensions increased, threats were also issued by Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security, Djoko Suyanto, that he would review its intelligence and information sharing arrangements with Australia unless it issued an explanation for bugging the Indonesian leader's phone in 2009 when Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister. It is the second time in a month, since Australia was first named in spying claims, that Indonesia has threatened a blackout on co-operation with Australia in a move that could derail the Abbott Government's asylum seeker operations. The Indonesian Government last night said it was demanding an official explanation and a guarantee that Australian spies would stop tapping the phones of the country's senior officials and Ministers. A statement released by the Indonesian government said it would "review the co-operation on the exchange of information between the Indonesian and Australian governments, including the assignments of Australian officers in the Australian embassy in Jakarta." The spying claims, revealed in leaked documents taken by fugitive US National Security Agency worker Snowdon suggested that intelligence officials from the Defence Signals Directorate had tapped the mobile phones of Mr Yudhoyono and his wife as well as a host of senior Ministers in 2009. It relayed this information to its NSA handlers through a series of slide shows. Mr Snowdon, who is now hiding in Russia, is now being pursued on criminal charges by US authorities. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was reported to have been deeply angered by the claims that his phone had been compromised by Australian spies. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry's official website was last night, however, was still carrying a report that the Indonesian Vice President Boediono had played down a rift over the affair and claimed spying was a part of the normal problems experienced by neighbours. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and then-Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Canberra. Prime Minister Tony Abbott's office last night said neither the PM or the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop would be responding to the Indonesian Government's reaction. Shadow Foreign Minister Tanya Plibersek, however, was more circumspect in her language. Our relationship is important for our region," Ms Plibersek said. Tony Abbott must work hard to reassure Indonesia of the Australian Government's goodwill. Independent MP and former intelligence officer Andrew Wilkie claimed that the outrage over the claims was confected and "theatre" as all countries knew that other countries spied on them. "Give the agencies a break, of course they are out there spying," he said. One Australian intelligence official yesterday told the Daily Telegraph that their greatest concern was that Australian spies were putting top secret information into slide shows and showing them to US agencies known to have compromised security. Mr Abbott yesterday told Parliament: "Australian governments use all the resources at his disposal including information to help our friends and allies, not to harm them," Mr Abbott told Parliament.