Peters says he will sue TVNZ

9.00am

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says he will sue TVNZ over its report that he accepted a free meal from a fishing company executive at the centre of a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr Peters says he has done nothing wrong after it was revealed yesterday he got the free meal last September at an Auckland restaurant co-owned by Peter Simunovich, managing director of Simunovich Fisheries.

Mr Peters, who was sitting on a select committee investigating the scampi fishery at the time, angrily denied the report and said he was given the free meal because he had been overcharged for a previous one at Kermadec Restaurant.

Today he described it as "an absolute beat-up, the worst I've seen in my whole political career" and accused the National Party of being behind it.

Asked on Newstalk ZB whether he would sue TVNZ he replied: "Yes I will sue...and a few others as well, those who are involved."

TVNZ head of news Bill Ralston said the company stood by its reporter and the story.

"The facts as reported are correct," he said in a statement.

Select committee chairman David Carter, a National MP, told NZPA last night he was asking Parliament's privileges committee to investigate the allegations.

He said he would be very concerned if any MP involved in a select committee inquiry accepted hospitality from one of the main submitters to that inquiry.

"I think that is a high level of suspicion and possibly corruption. I think the allegations are now very serious."

Mr Carter said it was possible the inquiry into the scampi fishery -- one of the longest held by a parliamentary committee which ended late last year -- would have to be re-opened.

Mr Peters said today there was "not a shred of truth" in the report.

"It started with the National Party," he said. "I was at a press party of the parliamentary gallery last year in December when a number of people were running around saying they were going to do Winston Peters in the new year. I didn't understand what they were talking about."

Mr Peters claimed today Mr Carter had started the story and said it was "a tissue of lies" which was not backed by any evidence.

Mr Simunovich said in a statement last night that when Mr Peters visited the restaurant he explained to him that he was due a credit because he had previously been overcharged.

"I did not discuss with Mr Peters any matters relating to the scampi inquiry," Mr Simunovich said.

It was Mr Peters' allegations of corruption that sparked the scampi inquiry.

The committee found no evidence of corruption but said some fishers should get at least $3 million in compensation due to unfair and incompetent treatment from fisheries officials.

- NZPA