YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS. Barry O’Farrell is resigning as the New South Wales premier after announcing that a signed thank you note for a $3000 bottle of wine had been tendered to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

As reports “Armenpress” citing The Guardian, on Wednesday morning the inquiry received a card from O’Farrell to the former Australian Water Holdings chief executive Nick Di Girolamo thanking him for his gift of “wonderful wine”.

O’Farrell denied receiving the bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange when he gave evidence to Icac on Tuesday. Earlier that day, Di Girolamo told the inquiry he had sent O’Farrell the wine – from 1959, the year the premier was born – as a gift after the state Liberals won office in March 2011, and had received a thank you card and a phone call in response.

Announcing his resignation at a press conference at state parliament, O’Farrell said: “I’ve been advised overnight that a thank you note from me in relation to the bottle of wine will be presented.”

He said: “I still can’t recall the receipt of the gift of the bottle of 59 Grange. I can’t explain what happened to that bottle of wine, but I do accept that if there is a thank you note signed by me, and as someone who believes in accountability … I accept the consequences of my actions.”

He said the evidence he gave Icac on Tuesday “was to the best of my knowledge”.

“I believed it to be truthful,” he said. “Clearly it was significant memory fail on my part.”

In a statement, O'Farrell maintained he had not set out to deceive Icac.

"In no way did I seek to mislead willfully or (otherwise mislead) the Independent Commission Against Corruption," he said. "That would go against everything I am."

He said there would be a meeting of the parliamentary Liberal party next week; he would resign to enable a new leader to be elected premier.

O’Farrell was recalled to appear before Icac shortly after he announced his resignation. He told the inquiry: “I certainly tried to give accurate evidence to the best of my recollection.”

Early frontrunners to replace O’Farrell include the NSW treasurer, Mike Baird, and the state transport minister, Gladys Berejiklian.

The prime minister Tony Abbott has praised Barry O’Farrell saying that he had taken “the utterly honourable step of resigning as premier”.

“This is honour and integrity … the like of which we have rarely seen in Australian politics.

“I admire him tremendously for this,” the prime minister said.