Home affairs minister Ronald Plasterk has told parliament he has ‘no plans’ to nominate anyone for a place on the Council of State advisory body in the short term, despite claims in the NRC that VVD MP Fred Teeven was up for the job.

Plasterk said in his briefing that he has not nominated anyone and that the cabinet would not name any names until appointments had been approved.

At the weekend, the NRC reported that Plasterk and acting justice minister Stef Blok had nominated Teeven for the job. The MP resigned as minister in 2015 in the wake of a row over the repayment of 4.7 million guilders to a convicted drugs baron while Teeven was a public prosecutor.

News of the pending appointment led opposition MPs to call for a debate with ministers and caused uproar on social media and among political commentators.

The NRC said on Tuesday evening that the appointment had been delayed, not cancelled. No-one has actually denied that Teeven was set to be appointed, the paper said.