Prime Minister Helen Clark needs to discipline her Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton after his 'loose lips' revealed that the SAS had been deployed to Afghanistan, National's Defence Spokesperson Max Bradford said today.

"Helen Clark said yesterday in Parliament she couldn't reveal to New Zealanders and the families of troops whether New Zealand's SAS troops had been sent to Afghanistan, even though the rest of the world has, because 'loose lips sink ships'.

Helen Clark had only previously said that two Hercules had been deployed on a mission.

"Jim Anderton told his Alliance caucus yesterday that the SAS had been sent to Afghanistan. I call on the Prime Minister to discipline her deputy in view of her view that loose lips sink ships.

"Yet again Helen Clark has one rule for some and another rule for others. She won't tell New Zealanders, or the families of servicepeople of the general whereabouts of the SAS but allows Jim Anderton to tell his Alliance mates the whole story," Mr Bradford said.

Ends

© Scoop Media