Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader

7 August 2013

Winston Peters’ Phone Records in Teacup Tape Probe

Rt Hon Winston Peters says he is outraged to learn that police wanted to use his personal telephone records to prosecute a cameraman whose tape recorder captured the teacup conversation between John Key and John Banks in the 2011 election campaign.

Mr Peters has told Parliament that he learned in the past 24 hours that police files contain references to seizing his telephone records during the police investigation of John Key’s complaint about the tape recording.

“At the time of this sordid meeting to jack up the election result, Winston Peters, private citizen, was nowhere in the vicinity and it is absurd that he should have been sucked into a politically motivated police investigation.

“If this had been a matter of national security I would have given investigators any records they wanted but this was not national security, this was National Party.

“We understand the Prime Minister’s office was being kept in the loop during the investigation so it stands to reason that the boss would also have been in the loop.

“That is perhaps the reason he backed off demanding a prosecution.

“He would have to admit that his politically motivated use of police led to a private citizen’s phone records being accessed illegally.”

Mr Peters has sought an assurance that Mr Key and the Police explain exactly what happened over his phone records.

“This was an offence against a private citizen who was nowhere near the café.

“This was not a matter of national security – or even a matter of life and death.

“Did Mr Key actually sign a warrant or was he prepared to?” asked Mr Peters.

ENDS

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