Clark's slip leaves SIS fuming

By Eugene Bingham

Labour leader Helen Clark has let slip why intelligence agents broke into activist Aziz Choudry's house, saying they were not actually after him.

Her disclosure of sensitive security matters is understood to have left the Government and the service fuming, although both refused to comment yesterday.

Helen Clark, who as Leader of the Opposition receives regular briefings on state security, refused to comment further yesterday.

In a magazine interview she said two Security Intelligence Service officers who were caught breaking into Mr Choudry's Christchurch home were interested in overseas visitors staying with him.

It is the first time anyone in authority has alluded to the reason for the bungled 1996 break-in.

The details are deemed so secret that the Government is arguing through the courts that it should not have to reveal them to a High Court judge in private.

Helen Clark's statement has credence because she would have been briefed on the case by the head of the SIS, Don McIver.

"The hardest thing for me on this is there are a lot of things I can't say, as I'm one of the few people the SIS briefs about the general nature of the activities," she told North & South magazine.

"They burgled [Mr Choudry's] house, yes, but not because of him," she said.

"I think it's clear to everyone that it was not aimed at him. He had visitors who were of interest and when you've got people coming to New Zealand on visitors' visas who have got links with groups who could have an interest, someone will make inquiries."

Mr Choudry, who is suing the SIS over the break-in, said the only person staying with him at the time was Dr Alejandro Villamar Calderon, a Mexican researcher and campaigner.

Dr Calderon had been invited to a free-trade conference organised by Mr Choudry and fellow anti-Apec campaigners in Christchurch.

But Mr Choudry said he was doubtful that the service would be interested in Dr Calderon and he had not even been invited to New Zealand at the time the Prime Minister signed a warrant authorising the SIS operation.

"The warrant was issued in September 1995. I had my first face-to-face contact meeting with Alejandro in November ... and he was not invited to come until late December 1996."