Benson-Pope a pariah says National MP

Judith Collins

National MP Judith Collins says three Labour MPs have told her party they believe Cabinet minister David Benson-Pope should lose his job.

She claims his fellow MPs are embarrassed by his handling of the assault allegations against him and have offered him little real support.

"Three Labour MPs have spoken to me or other colleagues and expressed the feeling that David Benson-Pope should go as a Cabinet minister and they believe he shouldn't even be in Parliament," she said.

Ms Collins would not name the MPs yesterday, but said she might.

"I think there's a huge amount of frustration, you can see it by the complete lack of support yesterday and today," Ms Collins said.

"When they were clearly told they all had to turn up and look supportive, nobody was going to his defence. He's just out on his own."

Prime Minister Helen Clark said through a spokesman: "I've never heard such a thing."

Opposition MPs kept up the attack against Mr Benson-Pope in Parliament yesterday with National leader Don Brash asking Helen Clark the point of keeping a minister who was "deceitful" and whom the public no longer trusted.

Helen Clark said she did not accept the assertions.

Ms Collins and Act leader Rodney Hide challenged Mr Benson-Pope to explain an apparent change in position on allegations that he jammed a tennis ball into the mouth of a student and taped his hands to a desk 23 years ago.

A police file released this week said nine former students confirmed the incident happened, 15 could not remember it and could not say whether it happened, and three said it never happened.

Mr Benson-Pope said in May that the allegations were ridiculous and "I refute them".

This week in Parliament he has refused to repeat that strong denial, instead echoing the police finding to say: "I am one of the 19 people who either do not believe the alleged events or do not believe they happened."

Ms Collins asked: "Can the minister just explain to the House what he meant by saying that he was both a person who did not recall the alleged events and a person who did not believe they happened. How can he be both?"

Mr Benson-Pope: "I would have thought that that was self-evident. I do not have any recall of the alleged events, nor do I believe they happened."

Act leader Rodney Hide this week asked Speaker Margaret Wilson to approve an inquiry into whether Mr Benson-Pope abused parliamentary privilege in May by not being truthful.

It is Mr Hide's third attempt, but he said he believed that the police files and the finding "there is sufficient evidence to say that this incident did occur" was the "smoking gun" he needed.

He received a letter from Ms Wilson yesterday saying she had turned down his request because any privileges complaint must be lodged at the earliest opportunity after the event.

Mr Hide said he was shocked.

He knew Mr Benson-Pope misled the House in May, but could not prove it until the witnesses went public, and now the Speaker said it was too late.

"It's a total Catch-22 situation," he said, and would have the effect of lowering standards in Parliament.