Key strikes deal over teapot tapes saga
Prime Minister John Key says he agreed to a strike a deal with prosecutors over the teapot tapes because ‘‘it’s time to turn the other cheek’’.
Freelance cameraman Bradley Ambrose penned a ‘‘letter of regret’’ to Mr Key, who agreed not to push for prosecution over the secret recording of his meeting with ACT’S John Banks in the lead-up to the election last year.
Police said yesterday that Mr Ambrose would received a warning, but would not face charges.
Mr Key said he felt ‘‘totally vindicated’’ as police had deemed Mr Ambrose’s actions unlawful.
‘‘As part of the conditions I agreed to a letter of regret. The reason I did that is I think I have made my point and it was a very serious principle that I believed in. But it’s time for me to turn the other cheek and move on.’’
The letter was sent to Mr Key’s lawyers on Monday last week after Crown prosecutors had telephoned him to say there was a prima facie case against Mr Ambrose, but he said he ‘‘wanted to make it go away’’.
Mr Key, who is in Seoul attending the Nuclear Security Summit, denied he had agreed to the deal to quietly put an end to the embarrassing fiasco.
‘‘Quite the opposite, my position has been totally vindicated. What further would be gained? I think I have made my point and in the end I have a country to run.’’
Assistant Police Commissioner Malcolm Burgess said there was no public interest in pursuing the case through the courts despite believing there was enough evidence to prove the recording was illegal.
It was the police view that the recording was ‘‘more likely deliberate’’, but at the very least Mr Ambrose had been ‘‘reckless’’.
Mr Burgess advised media organisations against playing the tape, a version of which was leaked on to the internet earlier this year, and said future privacy breaches would be prosecuted.
But Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said this was the best possible outcome for Mr Key.
‘‘It makes it look like he was right to pursue the matter because the police have claimed that they believe there was evidence of criminal wrongdoing . . . while at the same time there isn’t a trial now so he can draw a line under it.’’
It also saved Mr Ambrose from having to go through the time and cost involved in a trial.
Mr Ambrose still believes what he did was legal and maintained that the recording was accidentally made.
‘‘I feel happy in the fact I would never have been found guilty,’’ he said.
‘‘But saying that, the pressure and stress of it has been huge.’’
He was also upset at the damage the whole saga had done to his reputation.
Labour leader David Shearer said it was a waste of four months of police time and insulting to those whose privacy had legitimately been breached.
‘‘Police come to this conclusion just when Mr Key has left the country. It’s just too much of a coincidence frankly.’’
NZ First leader Winston Peters said Mr Key made a cynical complaint following a ‘‘political jackup’’.