Benson-Pope admits leaking police file

David Benson-Pope

Cabinet Minister David Benson-Pope has admitted being the source of a newspaper report yesterday outlining information from a police file into allegations against him, prompting Opposition calls for him to be sacked.

The Herald on Sunday carried information it said was in the police report showing the majority of students - 18 out of 29 - interviewed about a claim that Mr Benson-Pope taped a boy's hands to his desk and put a tennis ball in his mouth did not remember or believe that it happened.

The incidents are said to have happened when the now minister was a schoolteacher at a Dunedin high school in 1982.

Four students said it did happen and three others described a similar event but their stories differed.

A spokesman in Mr Benson-Pope's office initially denied knowledge of the paper's source in an interview with NZPA but in a subsequent statement admitted that his office had talked to a Sunday newspaper.

Mr Benson-Pope's statement said his spokesman was in error and should have acknowledged earlier that his office was the source of "some" information in a Sunday newspaper story. But the spokesman believed the question related to the release of the files themselves rather than the information in them.

The statement said police had not put any restrictions on Mr Benson-Pope regarding disclosing contents of his police files now the investigation was over.

Act leader Rodney Hide and National MP Judith Collins - who first raised the allegations in May - said he was trying to influence coverage by releasing positive parts of the report. Mrs Collins said he should lose his portfolios.

"I think it is extremely deceitful given that last week he was saying the police were in charge of the release of this report."

Mrs Collins said in the Herald on Sunday Mr Benson-Pope was quoted as not being available for comment.

"What we've now got is a situation where it turns out that he and the media people in the Government have been spinning us all a line - including the media and the people of New Zealand.

"And that line is, 'we're going to soften you up before this report actually comes out and hope you won't read the whole thing'."

Mr Hide also said the "selective leaking" undermined the independence of the police.

"It was their report for them to release."

Mr Benson-Pope was given an advance copy of the report and Mr Hide said he waited until Friday to give police his submissions, meaning it could not be immediately released.

"The guy is not fit to be in Cabinet. He should have gone months ago."

- NZPA