Labour open to Hughes' return

Shadow Leader of the House Trevor Mallard says he hopes Darren Hughes would return to politics, and that the Labour caucus would welcome him back some time in the future. Photo / Sandra Mu/Getty Images

The Labour Party door is open to former whip Darren Hughes, should he want to make a political comeback after being cleared of sexual assault allegations.

After completing their investigation into allegations by an 18-year-old male university student, police today announced they would not press charges against Mr Hughes.

The student alleged Mr Hughes sexually assaulted him at the Hataitai home of Labour deputy leader Annette King in March.

Mr Hughes, 33, resigned as Labour's whip, then as an MP, amid the allegations.

Shadow Leader of the House Trevor Mallard said he hoped Mr Hughes would return to politics, and that the Labour caucus would welcome him back some time in the future.

"I certainly hope that Darren has a future in the Labour Party," he said.

"Clearly he's got some time and space needed in order to rebuild and to be in a position to make a decision to come back and, frankly, it would be a big call to do that after the way that he has been treated.

"The guy's exceptionally talented and my view is he's a real loss to us."

Mr Mallard said he had not spoken to Mr Hughes since the police announcement, but that his advice to him was to take some time to rebuild his life.

"I know that if I was Darren I would not want to spend time here (Parliament) at the moment," he said.

Asked whether Mr Hughes could be back in Parliament in the next three years, Mr Mallard said he did not want to make any judgments.

"That will be a matter for Darren and the Labour Party, I'd just say, if I'd been bruised in that way, I'd probably want a bit more time."

Mr Mallard said the nature of the allegations meant a media frenzy was inevitable, and Mr Hughes' resignation could not have been prevented by having him stand down while the police conducted their investigation.

"It was an awful frenzy that was occurring and no person who is at all sensitive and could be a good Member of Parliament could stand that sort of frenzy for a period of about 12 or 13 weeks."

In a statement this afternoon, Mr Hughes said being falsely accused of a serious crime had been one of the most challenging experiences of his life, but he had held a strong belief his name would be cleared.

"I have always had full confidence that our independent legal processes would lead to the right outcome and the police's decision shows that such confidence was well-placed."

Mr Hughes did not indicate a planned return to politics, but said he wanted to continue serving the community.

"I feel that I still have much to offer and I am looking forward to the future with optimism," he said.

"Whatever I do, I would like to continue to serve our community and our country. But there's plenty of time."

Wellington District field crime manager Detective Inspector Mike Johnson today said evidence had been properly considered, both internally and by the Crown Solicitor's Office in Wellington.

"After this careful consideration, the allegations do not reach the evidential threshold required to bring charges," Mr Johnson said.

"As a result, no charges will be brought against Mr Hughes."

Some media organisations had received an anonymous letter about Mr Hughes while police were investigating the complaint, he said.

"I can confirm those allegations contained in the letter have been investigated and there were no matters which arose that required police attention."

Mr Johnson said it would be inappropriate to comment further, given the investigation had now been completed and Mr Hughes was not facing any charges.

"I am also mindful of respecting the privacy of the individuals concerned."

- NZPA