Prime Minister Bill English first heard about the US missile attack on Syria when he was visiting the Hundertwasser-inspired folly in Whangarei.
It was not a subject he expected to be asked about, nor one he was prepared for, during his visit to Whangarei yesterday afternoon.
"I don't know anything about it," he said.
Mr English had been in flood-stricken Edgecumbe and the Whakatane emergency response centre in the morning and had not been briefed about the US bombardment of Syria, the Advocate was told.
A statement would be issued after he had been informed about the missile attack.