Clark implicated further in Doone affair

The latest revelations in the Doone affair paint the PM in a far worse light than previous revelations. Today we learn that:

* Helen Clark encouraged the newspaper, and in one case said to hang tough
* Helen Clark said she was relying on an inquiry report but the four words (that won’t be necessary) were not in the report, issued publicly two weeks later
* Even after Doone publicly threatened to sue the newspaper, Helen Clark privately reassured the journalists their story had been correct
* According to the editor’s evidence, Helen Clark was adamant the paper had not reported any incorrect information
* Clark encouraged the newspaper to continue its investigation as the matter was reaching its critical stages.

Jonathan Milne sums it up by saying “not only did Clark use backdoor methods to undermine her “independent” police commissioner, but she somehow managed to misrepresent the contents of deputy police commissioner Rob Robinson’s report into his boss’s actions.”