English didn't tell Key about spying

Email
Print

English didn't tell Key about spying

3News NZ

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English (Photo: Jared Mason / 3 News)

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English (Photo: Jared Mason / 3 News)

By Sanele Chadwick

The Labour Party is continuing its calls for an independent inquiry into the Government's handling of the Kim Dotcom case.

Yesterday Prime Minister John Key admitted he was told about the Government Communications Security Bureau’s (GCSB) involvement sooner than he'd admitted.

And today the Deputy Prime Minister had his own memory trouble when 3 News asked him during his trip to London to tell us when he heard about illegal spying on Dotcom.

“I would have to check, but it would be most likely the day I signed the suppression certificate for the court,” Mr English says.

The GCSB told Mr Key in February about its role in the Dotcom investigation, but until yesterday, Mr Key had said he wasn't told until September.

Mr English says he didn't know the spying on Dotcom was illegal when he signed a suppression order over the investigation - but that hasn't gone down well with the opposition.

“This raises even more doubts that when Bill English is in charge and when John Key is away, he doesn't even know what he's signing, and then forgets to tell John Key about it,” Labour leader David Shearer says. “I mean, it's bungling at the highest level.”

Mr English says he thought someone else would tell Mr Key about what the GCSB was up to.

“The thing is, [as] we've already said, I assumed the intelligence agencies would be informing the Prime Minister about their activities.”

Now Labour's calling for more action.

“We want a full independent inquiry of all the intelligence agencies, the checks and balances that are in place and the accountability,” Mr Shearer says.

Mr Key's is currently in Los Angeles for meetings with movie bosses.

3 News

Post a Comment

Before commenting, please take the time to read our moderation guide


(Won't be published)



Comments

5/10/2012 9:17:16 a.m.

zac wrote:

I wonder if Bill English had a secret cup of tea with John Banks? He seems to be suffering from a similar brain fade as the two Johns.

5/10/2012 6:18:57 a.m.

Carlos wrote:

Thats the thing about spying, its secret !

4/10/2012 8:22:43 p.m.

the DR wrote:

when you assume you make an ass of your self and your boss. you know the one that heads the GCSB the one you signed on be half of. or did you have a bran fade about that as wall. next time put it in your diary so you don't make an ass of the law. and denial isn't a river in Egypt

4/10/2012 7:28:08 p.m.

Ruz wrote:

I think it is reasonable for Bill English to believe that GCSB would be the ones to advise its Minister about importnat matters - that is John Key.

4/10/2012 7:13:44 p.m.

Disgusted with the lies wrote:

Mike B, what the hell are we paying government ministers for if not to have oversight of what government departments are doing? Signing = accountability, pure and simple. You can't get away with fobbing off responsibility on your workers. People at the top not being accountable for the things they signed led to the Bridgecorp meltdown, and to the deaths at Pike River. The actions, lies and collective amnesia of the John Key, John Banks and Bill English is an absolute disgrace, and I bloody hope that we as a country will let this be swept under the government's grubby little carpet. If any normal citizen knowingly broke the law, lied about it, sought to cover it up, and then, when it accidentally came out, refused to allow a proper inquiry into what happened, I wouldn't just lose my job for sheer incompetence, I'd be put into jail in a flash. Why are we treating this bunch of low-life politicans differently?

4/10/2012 4:29:03 p.m.

john wrote:

Ian Fletcher is a UK Govt agent. so why is he working for the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau?

4/10/2012 2:03:25 p.m.

John Davis wrote:

He knew, English is just sand bagging to keep John Key safe.

4/10/2012 1:48:03 p.m.

Tom wrote:

Both Key and English should pee in a cup to prove to the NZ public they are not smoking the 'Wakey Bakey' with all this 'Brain Fade' nonsense.

4/10/2012 1:23:59 p.m.

Mike B wrote:

Mr Shearer, you obviously do not trust anyone who works for you. You are implying that Mr Key or English must check everything that reaches their desk for signature. I trust the managers reporting to me and the ones reporting to them, so when I need to sign something off, I do not have the time to go and check if the people below me did their job correctly. If that was the case, I should fire them all and do the job myself. Overall responsibility remains with Mr Key/English and it has come out that someone made a mistake. So let’s crucify who ever makes mistakes from now on. This again emphasizes the fact that the opposition are very weak and not worth voting for. What will they do when they are in power and need to make a decision or implement some policy? We have seen nothing constructive from any of the opposition for months and anyone who votes for them is a bigger fool and deserves exactly what they will get. A bunch of incompetent, spineless jellyfish! For crying out loud, give this a break and put all this energy into saving our starving children. They deserve the attention more than Dotcom does!