Their supporters fear a ``witch hunt'' and lack of natural justice and transparency at a looming Liberal Party inquiry.

They fear that the increasing control of Mr Hawke, who appears intent on toppling his former boss and father-like figure, David Clarke, MLC, leader of the John Howard right-wing conservatives, may hold sway.

Three ``young Turks'', office bearers in the Liberal Party aligned to Mr Clarke, have been given a ``please explain'' summons to appear before the state executive of the party.

They are Charles and Dominic Perrottet and Tim (``no ham in it'') Abrams.

Charlie Perrottet is a David Clarke staffer.

His brother Dominic is a lawyer who worked as Mr Hawke's confidant for six years, but who defected.

He was not at the meeting in Mr Hawke's office on Wednesday, September 30.

Tim Abrams is under threat from the Hawke faction as president of the Mitchell branch of the Liberals' Federal Electoral Conference.

The lawyers of these three are compiling a raft of statutory declarations to be presented by a barrister at the Liberal hearing to be chaired by the state director, the non-aligned Mark Neeham.

The ``accused'' three can't speak to the media (under Liberal rules) but their supporters believe that they and others will also be summoned to the hearing have been nicely set up by the Hawke camp.

Forty Young Liberals say they were exercising their democratic rights to attend a Young Liberal Party function in Mr Hawke's office, but were stalled from entering by being asked to sign an attendance register while the meeting had started without them, a tactic previously used.

The meeting was cancelled and police were called after they shoved their way in anyway, amid allegations and counter allegations of assault.

Mr Hawke denies it was a strategy to prevent a membership vote swamping his supporters.

He wrote later that ``the use of physical force at any meeting is unacceptable''.

Mr Hawke denied there had been any impropriety in his actions.

But several police officers have said privately they felt that Mr Hawke had ``used'' them.

It's known that his supporters were about to call police at a previous meeting, but were advised not to by a local state MP.

An insider said: ``The thing is that if this happens again, everyone will have woken up.''