'Leading involves cruel choices... Peta Credlin must do her patriotic duty and resign': Murdoch calls for scalp of PM's chief adviser over 'Knightmare' fiasco - but top Libs say she's going nowhere  Rupert Murdoch says Peta Credlin 'must do her patriotic duty and resign'  News Corp columnist Miranda Devine blamed her for Prince Philip gaffe  Mr Abbott today said Ms Credlin had nothing to do with the decision  MPs have complained about her tight control on the PM's office  The News Corp chairman recently met Julie Bishop By DANIEL PIOTROWSKI FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA PUBLISHED: 12:55 EST, 28 January 2015 | UPDATED: 19:59 EST, 28 January 2015

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has fired his second broadside at Prime Minister in just two days, urging him to sack his chief of staff Peta Credlin. In a series of social media posts, Murdoch wrote that Mr Abbott's controversial top adviser 'must do her patriotic duty and resign' if he doesn't sack her. The demand came after the billionaire branded Mr Abbott's decision to knight Prince Philip a 'joke and embarrassment' and a News Corp columnist said Credlin should be sacrificed. Murdoch tweeted: 'Forget fairness. This change only way to recover team work and achieve so much possible for Australia. Leading involves cruel choices'. He later justified his message by praising Credlin's character. '(She's) a good person. Just appealing to her proven patriotism.' Following public ridicule and dissension in his own ranks, the prime minister today said he stood by his decision to knight the Duke of Edinburgh. But he told reporters in Melbourne he accepted people were upset by it. 'I respect their right to be critical... and I take it on the chin, I take it on the chin.'

+12 Mr Abbott has insisted his decision was a 'captain's pick' and that he did not consult with Ms Credlin. 'There does need to be wider consultation around these awards in the future'.

Ms Credlin has been the subject of internal dissent within the Liberal Party over the past year. Several unnamed MPs have told the press they are chafing under her tight direction of the Prime Minister's Office, or PMO. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has stridently defended his top political operator, telling the ABC in December: 'Do you really think my chief of staff would be under this kind of criticism if her name was Peter as opposed to Peta?' The remarks came after a frontbencher reportedly told The Australian that Ms Credlin and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop 'were like two Siamese fighting fish in the same tank' and that their relationship had broken down. Murdoch met with Ms Bishop in New York at the weekend, according to the Australian Financial Review.

A column by opinion writer Miranda Devine in the Daily Telegraph today said Ms Credlin was being blamed for Mr Abbott's gaffe and she should be sacrificed. She suggested Mr Abbott replace her with News Corp columnist Chris Kenny, a former adviser to one-time Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. 'The Prime Minister has to make a sacrificial offering to convince his colleagues that he has learned a lesson,' Devine wrote.

'Something that causes him pain, like chopping off his right arm. In other words, moving on chief of staff Peta Credlin.

'Justly or not, she is being blamed for the Prince Philip gaffe. 'It was Abbott’s decision but it’s the job of the chief of staff, who he has been known to call the Boss, to stop him from making such a blunder.' Education Minister Christopher Pyne has already jumped to Ms Credlin's defence, saying she was 'absolutely intrinsic to our success'. 'I support the chief of staff, Peta Credlin,' he said. 'I don’t think there is any prospect of his suggestion being pursued by the government.' ABBOTT STANDS BY PRINCE PHILIP The PM today told reporters he stood be his decision to bestow a knigthood on Prince Philip, saying he had made a 'great contribution' to Australian public life. 'I accept that it's been a contentious decision – I absolutely accept that – and I absolutely respect people's rights to disagree with my call on this,' he said.

'But Prince Philip has been a distinguished servant of this country throughout a long and active public life. 'He’s been part of some of the big events in our national life going back to the 1956 Olympics here in this city (Melbourne).

Mr Abbott pointed to the popularity of the Duke of Edinburgh Leadership Awards as one of his major contributions.

Rupert Murdoch was far from the only figure to criticise Mr Abbott's 'captain's call'. Queensland premier Campbell Newman, who is in the fight of his political life on the campaign trail, told reporters he disagreed with the decision and described it as a 'bolt from the blue'. Nationals deputy leader Barnaby Joyce told ABC Radio: 'I'm always of the strong belief that all awards should be for Australians'. Backbencher Ewen Jones told the ABC he was fine for previous governors-general to be made knights and dames knighthoods and d

+1 Murdoch was far from alone in criticising the knighthood, with Queensland Liberal National Party MPs Warren Entsch and Ewen Jones criticising the decision in various media interviews. They were joined by Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles - a Country Liberal - who told reporters on Monday: 'It's Australia Day. We're not a bunch of tossers, let's get it right.' Even former prime minister John Howard, an Abbott mentor, declined to comment on the decision when approached by Ten Eyewitness News this week. In an Australia Day press conference, Mr Abbott wrote off widespread derision on social media by describing it as 'electronic graffiti' - a far cry from his remarks today. 'Social media is kind of like electronic graffiti and I think that in the media, you make a big mistake to pay too much attention to social media,' he told reporters. The prime minister's standing has flagged with colleagues after a series of bungled policy decisions, including an attempt to ram through an unpopular cut to the Medicare rebate.