Liar liar pants on fire

 Do you remember how about to be sacked Cabinet Minister David Benson-Pope said he knew no details of the sacking.

Do you also recall how he kept maintaining he expressed no opinion to the Environment Ministry CEO on her job?

Well as Audrey Young blogs, we learnt different today in question time:

“From the point of view of my office, I will likely be less free and frank in meetings with such a person.”

So he knew no details of the issue, and had no opinion about her job, EXCEPT that he would be less likely to be free and frank if she was employed.

So the CEO has a choice of sacking her, or not sacking her with the implicit consequences that the Minister would no longer be free and frank with his Ministry.

Audrey Young notes that not only has he misled the PM and the public, but in her own words:

“He misled me as well.”

Around Parliament the expectation is that he will now be sacked. More than one person has said to me that the only thing worse than misleading the PM is misleading Audrey Young 🙂

So if he goes tomorrow, Clark may do a full reshuffle next week as Samuels will be standing down also to make room for Shane Jones.

Of course Clark may not sack him, but surely even she will give up trying to protect him now.

UPDATE: TV3 says they understand Benson-Pope is to be sacked in the very near future.