Scott Watson interview approved

Scott Watson is currently serving a 17-year sentence for the 1998 New Year's Day murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope. Photo / John Kirk-Anderson / The Press

Convicted double murderer Scott Watson will be interviewed by a journalist in prison.

Michael White applied to the Department of Corrections to interview Watson, convicted in 1999 of the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope on his boat Blade on 1 January 1998.

Corrections confirmed this morning that White's application had been approved and the interview would go ahead.

"The interview will be subject to certain conditions related to security of the prison and the interests of victims," said Corrections spokesman Vincent Arbuckle.

"Corrections reconsidered the application in light of the High Court's ruling in June 2015 that determined that 'where no concerns of prison security are raised, and where the communication is to a reputable journalist, then that is a circumstance where the (freedom of expression right) in the NZ Bill of Rights Act should almost always prevail'."

Watson is serving life at Christchurch's Rolleston Prison. He invited White to interview him but the North & South reporter was blocked by Corrections, explaining they were trying to protect the interests of the murder victims' families.