An unapologetic Bruce Sheppard has hit back after revelations he agreed to pay a record cash settlement to businessmen Mark Hotchin and Eric Watson in a defamation case.
The men sued Sheppard, an advocate for shareholders and now an associate member of the Financial Markets Authority, for $7 million for statements made on TV and radio in late 2009.
The Herald on Sunday reported last week the pair had accepted a retraction and "substantial" six-figure payout, believed to be the biggest defamation settlement paid by an individual in New Zealand. Sheppard says there was a breach of confidentiality by someone privy to details of the settlement in revealing that fact.
Hotchin was a director of Hanover, and Watson a major shareholder.
Sheppard had expressed "regret" at any inference of criminality, but emphasised this weekend: "The statement did not include an apology for the alleged defamatory statements."