Laws lays complaint with police after 'anguish' over leaked email

The war of words - and legal action - between Mayor Michael Laws and mayoral candidate Jevan Goulter has escalated, with Mr Laws laying complaints against Mr Goulter.
The Wanganui Mayor confirmed yesterday he has laid complaints with the police against Mr Goulter and his campaign supporter, Barbara Osborne, for hacking into his private emails and for attempting to sell private emails and text messages.
Mr Laws' complaint against Mrs Osborne and Mr Goulter comes on top of an assault complaint laid by Mr Goulter against Mr Laws.
In his complaint to police, Mr Laws noted he had received "considerable public coverage relating to leaked email and Facebook messages between myself and an Auckland woman by the name of Jacqueline Sperling".
The messages relate to a brief relationship Mr Laws and Ms Sperling had in June.
"This has occasioned embarrassment and a measure of anguish for myself, Ms Sperling and our families. Ms Sperling has reiterated that she did not leak any correspondence between us to any third parties and her denials are credible.
"Hamish Jevan Goulter is on the public record as having provided to news media copies of the leaked email and text correspondence. It has been provided to the Sunday Star Times, Herald on Sunday and Truth newspaper."
Last week Mr Goulter offered to give the Wanganui Chronicle the information in return for publishing an article that he wished to have made public.
The Chronicle's deputy editor, Colin Rowatt, refused.
Mr Goulter denied that this incident took place.
Mr Laws said a member of the public sent him details of a Facebook conversation between Mr Goulter's supporter, Barbara Osborne, and several other women in which Mrs Osborne claimed to have hacked into Mr Laws' private emails.
Mr Laws supplied a copy of the Facebook conversation to the Wanganui Chronicle. It took place on August 1.
The conversation is started by a Barbara Ann Osborne with the line: "Have you ever heard of someone Harassing MICHEAL LHAWS [sic]?????".
Later in the conversation one of the other posters asked Barbara Ann Osborne: "Where did you find out he [had] been harassed?"
She replied: "From his email - I hacked it."
But Mrs Osborne yesterday told the Wanganui Chronicle she had not hacked into Mr Laws' emails.
"That is absolute rubbish. I am not that computer literate."
When asked about the Facebook conversation, Mrs Osborne said she knew nothing about it.
"I think you will find that was not my IP address," she said.
Mr Goulter claimed Mr Laws assaulted him when he went to Mr Laws' Radio Live studio on Wednesday to serve court papers on him for defamation of character.
Whanganui Police confirmed they are investigating the complaint to decide if a charge of assault will be made against Mr Laws.
Mr Laws said Mr Goulter last week attempted to serve a trespass notice to Mr Laws' 5-year-old daughter, Lucy, after her mother and Mr Laws' former partner, Leonie Brookhammer, refused to take the notice.
Mr Goulter admitted attempting to serve the notice to Ms Brookhammer but denied involving Lucy.
"I would never involve a 5-year-old child in a political situation," he said.