The guy who whacked Key

The moment John Key revealed yes he had been punched, and named his school era attacker, I knew there would be a media manhunt for the other party, and so behold the Herald reports:

A man who punched John Key in a schoolyard spat almost 40 years ago says he was “done over” by the Prime Minister in a game of padder tennis.

Mr Key yesterday outed Greg Buzzard in a light-hearted interview for hitting him at Christchurch’s Cobham Intermediate and said he still hadn’t forgiven him.

Mr Buzzard said he didn’t remember throwing a punch, but still recalls a dodgy umpiring decision by Mr Key which cost him his place on the court.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if I did [punch him],” Mr Buzzard, 49, told the Weekend Herald.

“We were really competitive at school. While we might have respected each other I wouldn’t have necessarily said we got on that well.”

Mr Buzzard, a competitive table tennis player, recalls the future prime minister making the wrong call against him when Mr Key was next in line to take the court.

“He definitely called it out when it wasn’t. I’ll never forgive him for scamming me at padder tennis. I got done over by him.”

I expect Red Alert to seize on this story as proof that Key can’t be trusted, and that someone who scammed at padder tennis could well do the H-Fee.