I insist on high standards, says Goff

Phil Goff says he 'will need to act accordingly' if police find substance in the complaint against MP Darren Hughes. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour leader Phil Goff has said he will hold MP Darren Hughes to the same standard he has previously demanded of others if police find any substance in a sexual complaint laid against him.

Mr Hughes has gone to ground after he yesterday confirmed he was the subject of a police investigation, believed to have followed a late-night incident with an 18-year-old male.

Mr Hughes said he had "done nothing wrong" and was co-operating with police, but would not comment further during the investigation.

Yesterday, Mr Goff said Mr Hughes was on leave until police finished their investigation. If police found there was substance to the complaint "then I will need to act accordingly".

He accepted Mr Hughes' word that he had done nothing wrong and he regarded Mr Hughes well "as a friend and a colleague".

However, he would "absolutely" hold his MPs to the same standard he demanded of Prime Minister John Key after allegations surfaced against former minister Richard Worth.

"You expect a high standard of integrity in politics and that's what I expect from my MPs ... It's for the police to make a decision as to whether there's any substance and for me to respond at that point."

Yesterday Mr Key would not be drawn on how he believed the matter should be dealt with, saying it was a matter for Labour.

Asked if he had some sympathy for Mr Hughes, Mr Key said: "These personal issues are never great when they play out in the public domain, but it's for him and Mr Goff to resolve."

Although Mr Hughes told Mr Goff about the investigation two weeks ago, Mr Goff said he saw no need to send him on leave until yesterday, when the allegations were made public.

"Because it's been made public it's very hard for him to continue to carry on with his normal duties. I didn't think the complaint was relevant to his ability to carry out his job. Because he is under that scrutiny now, it's very hard for him to do so, that's why I've given him leave."

Asked if the scandal meant the end of Mr Hughes' career, regardless of actual guilt, he said everyone was presumed innocent until proven guilty.

"I don't want to make any comment on that."

If the police investigation took more than a week or two, Mr Hughes' shadow education portfolio would be handed to an acting spokesperson.

The man making the complaint was understood to be an 18-year-old former youth MP. Mr Goff said he did not know if it was politically motivated. Mr Hughes was coping "as you'd expect".

"It's never a pleasant experience for a complaint to be made against you as an individual and he is asserting very clearly he has done nothing, he believes, that is wrong."

He said he would not comment on the substance of the complaint or the investigation but said he was hoping the investigation would be prompt.

"It is appropriate they carry out their investigation without any suggestion at all of political commentary or interference."

Police are believed to have taken some items from the house of Labour's deputy leader, Annette King, where Levin-based Mr Hughes boards when he is in Wellington.