Today's High Court decision in the case involving Anthony Hewison is a wake-up call for the Police, National's Police spokesman Tony Ryall, said today.

Mr Hewison, a former gang member who fled to Australia after informing on other gang members, won his case against police for breaching a binding deal to relocate him in Australia with a new identity.

"If informants don't think the Police will keep their end of the bargain, then they won't tell them anything. If that happens then law enforcement will suffer," Mr Ryall said.

"Informants play a key role in the fight against gang crime. The gangs in New Zealand control the illegal drug trade. For the Police to crack this they need information. Today's ruling shows the justice system will ensure confidence in the witness protection programme," Tony Ryall said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>