Staffer at centre of allegations resigns

WELLINGTON: The Labour Party staff member at the centre of allegations of bullying and sexual assault has resigned.

‘‘I have enjoyed my time working in Parliament, but today have made the very difficult decision to resign because of the stress of the situation, and my wish not to be a distraction to the work of the Government,’’ the man said in a statement yesterday.

‘‘I adamantly refute the serious allegations made against me. I cooperated fully with the initial inquiry.

‘‘I am cooperating fully with the Dew inquiry that is now under way, and will continue to do so, having been assured that this process will be fair to all parties.’’

The man was the subject of an internal investigation by the Labour Party earlier this year following seven formal complaints about his behaviour.

That investigation cleared him of wrongdoing, but is now being reviewed by Maria Dew QC, after the complainants said the process was unfair and sexual assault claims were ignored.

The man’s lawyer said in a statement that he was in the distressing situation of facing a further inquiry, having been cleared by a previous one.

‘‘The toll that is being taken on him is severe,’’ the lawyer said.

‘‘Given that this inquiry is currently being conducted, I have advised my client that it is completely inappropriate for these matters to be litigated in the media, and he will not be doing so.’’

The man, who was employed by Parliamentary Service, had been working away from the parliamentary precinct since media reports first surfaced about the complaints five weeks ago. —