Capital MP sorry over expletives

Labour MP Paul Eagle has apologised for an incident that saw a Wellingtonian call him an ‘‘entitled douchebag’’.

A Reddit user named ‘‘Cuthbertus’’ posted about the incident on the website’s New Zealand forum yesterday afternoon, saying that Eagle rang their work and swore at them when he couldn’t get his way.

Eagle told Stuff it was all a misunderstanding, and that he was swearing at people blocking his way into his suburban Wellington office – not someone on the phone.

In a self-described rant, the user said Eagle was ‘‘the most entitled, rude and disrespectful man I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with’’.

‘‘It says a lot about a person’s character how they treat those with less power than them and Mr Eagle thinks it’s acceptable to swear at and berate those he does not deem to be of his level.’’

Eagle said he was talking to a panelbeater yesterday afternoon about getting his car fixed and having a polite but robust cellphone discussion about whether or not a separate incident could be fixed as part of a single job.

His route to his Newtown electorate office had been blocked by some guys who had given him ‘‘lip’’.

‘‘We have got a diverse community in Newtown and sometimes this happens,’’ Eagle said. ‘‘I was swearing at them, they were swearing at me.

‘‘I’d like to formally apologise for any misunderstanding. And I certainly don’t want her feeling any ill will.’’

The Reddit user was contacted to make further comment.