Those false Gayford rumours – it’s not us, say Nats
Bridges denies any party link but Peters suspects politics
National Party leader Simon Bridges denies that any of his MPs are behind false rumours about the Prime Minister’s partner, Clarke Gayford.
Bridges said Jacinda Ardern and Gayford had his “heartfelt sympathy” after Police Commissioner Mike Bush took the unusual step of authorising a statement on rumours circulating about Gayford. The Police National Headquarters media release said Gayford was not the subject of any police inquiry.
“While in general we do not respond to inquiries which seek to confirm if individuals are under police investigation, on this occasion we can say that Mr Gayford is not and has not been the subject of any police inquiry, nor has he been charged in relation to any matter,” the statement said.
Bridges said he told his caucus on Tuesday: “I will not tolerate National MPs peddling rumours or innuendo.”
Asked by the Herald if he was aware whether any of his MPs had been spreading rumours, Bridges said to the best of his knowledge none had been: “I do not believe the National Party is involved in this in any way.”
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was not so reticent.
“The Prime Minister might be reserved about it but this is part of a dirty campaign and it’s clearly been going on for some time,” Peters told reporters yesterday.
“The only people who would be behind it would be the people who would seek to be politically advantaged by it. Have a wild guess who that might be?”
As a victim of a rumour campaign himself, he was “not going to stand around here and let people plead their innocence when their background has been one, in some cases, of engaging in political filth and dirt”.
Peters took legal action against National party figures last year after details of a superannuation overpayment were leaked.
Bridges said he had not spoken to Ardern himself but had asked his chief of staff to convey to Ardern’s chief of staff that National was not involved.
Ardern, who initially described the false rumours as “dirty politics”, said she was not interested in pointing “fingers of blame”.
“My job is to run the country, this has got nothing to do with my job so I’m not going to comment on it.”
Former Prime Minister Sir John Key said people in public life were always subject to rumours.
“They’re very unpleasant . . . difficult to extinguish and I have sympathy for those [affected by] them.”
Another former Prime Minister, Helen Clark, tweeted her support for Ardern, saying: “There is a small minority of people who indulge in these smears — most people find them despicable.”
Daniel Laufer, Associate Professor of Marketing at Victoria Uni- versity’s School of Marketing and International Business and a global expert in crisis management, said it could backfire on whoever was spreading the rumours.
“As a result of the crisis, the public may be more supportive of [Ardern] because some people may believe that this was an attempt to discredit her through her partner,” he said.
Chris Galloway, senior lecturer in public relations at Massey University, said Ardern had handled the issue the right way “by confronting it . . . and by saying that pretty much this is the price you pay for being in the public eye. She’s going to keep smiling all the way through it.
“It’s also a very good idea that Mr Gayford has not been adding his voice to the online clamour about the rumours.”
Gayford’s lawyer warned media the unidentified rumours were defamatory and publishing the allegations was “actionable”.