David  SHEARER
Labour Leader

31 July 2013       MEDIA STATEMENT

PM clueless about GCSB’s snooping for Henry inquiry

John Key has once again been shown to be clueless about the activities of his own spy agency, which helped snoop for the Henry inquiry, says David Shearer.

“John Key told Parliament today that the Henry report was sent to the head of the GCSB (as it related to the Kitteridge report into the Bureau), and to the best of the Prime Minister’s knowledge that was the only role the GCSB played.

“But on page 16 of the Henry report, in Appendix Three, it quite clearly states:

“Substantial assistance, particularly in the gathering of records, was also provided by staff at GCSB…”

“Once again we are having to drag the truth out of John Key.  He needs to front up and tell New Zealanders what the “substantial assistance” the GCSB provided.

“And while he is at it, perhaps he could explain what role his Chief of Staff played in the inquiry and the collection of phone and email records.

“John Key and his office were neck-deep in this inquiry, which we now know not only tracked the movements of a journalist but also received three months of her phone records. 

“The Prime Minister wants us to believe that nobody ever asked for the journalist’s phone records.  That’s despite the administrator of the inquiry emailing the Parliamentary Service saying they were interested in “any contact” between the Ministers personal landlines and the journalist’s numbers. 

“This story gets murkier by the day.  The Prime Minister needs to come clean about what role he and his office played in this sorry saga,” says David Shearer.

ENDS

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