Latest news with #MichaelForbes
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Press secretary sex scandal: Investigation to conclude in August
Michael Forbes had audio recordings of multiple sessions with sex workers, as well as zoomed-in photos of women in public and footage of women getting changed for a night out. Photo: LinkedIn/Michael Forbes The government says it will "consider what information can be made public" about the sex scandal surrounding the prime minister's former deputy chief press secretary, after the investigation ends in August. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has ordered Ministerial Services - run by the Department of Internal Affairs - to carry out a "deep dive" investigation after it was revealed Michael Forbes had audio recordings of multiple sessions with sex workers, as well as zoomed-in photos of women in public and footage of women getting changed for a night out, filmed through a window. Forbes resigned as Luxon's deputy chief press secretary this month after the Stuff investigation looking into the matter contacted him for comment. The recordings, photos and footage was discovered by a Wellington sex worker in July last year. In a statement, the Department of Internal Affairs said its investigation would look into "employment and device policies, procedures and information sharing practices". "The deep dive is expected to conclude in August 2025, at which point DIA will determine what information can be shared and when. "We will not be commenting further as the deep dive is in progress." The statement follows a report by the NZ Herald quoting DIA chief executive Paul James, who said he did not have terms of reference "per se", but that he expected to release the investigation's findings publicly in August. James told the Herald officials were checking the range of security clearances Parliamentary staff had, and with police and the Security Intelligence Service would assess information sharing practices - likely in July. James also told the paper he did not expect the inquiry would prompt wide-ranging changes but he wanted to remain open minded, including around whether employees were expected to raise concerns about a change in their circumstances, or whether departments should check in about that regularly. In statements after the scandal was revealed, Forbes said he had sought therapy over the past year, and should have apologised to the women affected at the time. Police investigated the same month the recordings were discovered and seized two phones in a search warrant, but said the available evidence did not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. After the scandal broke, the DIA said all Ministerial Services staff were subject to standard pre-employment checks including reference checks, serious misconduct checks and a criminal conviction check when first employed - but this was not required when Forbes was temporarily assigned to the PM's office. Luxon himself told reporters it was Forbes' responsibility "to actually declare those issues or those incidents to us - that didn't happen which is why his employment would have been terminated, obviously". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
New Zealand PM's aide quits after prostitute reveals he had been secretly recording sex workers and taking intimate photos of other women
An aide of New Zealand 's Prime Minister has resigned after being accused of secretly taping sex workers without consent. Senior aide Michael Forbes resigned after a local news outlet alleged he covertly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers and secretly photographed women at the gym. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was 'shocked' - but it was unclear whether Forbes had broken the law. Luxon has now floated some new privacy laws in the wake of the scandal. 'If you're a New Zealander you ask quite legitimate questions about how does this behaviour happen, and is it legal or illegal,' he told reporters on Thursday. 'I have that same reaction to it as well.' Luxon flagged new privacy laws could be drafted to clear up the legal grey area. Forbes - who was Luxon's deputy chief press secretary - apologised in a statement sent to media. 'I want to offer my sincerest apologies to the women I have harmed,' he said. The scandal came to light after a sex worker noticed Forbes's phone was recording audio while he took a shower, according to an investigation published Wednesday by New Zealand news outlet Stuff. Forbes phone was then found to contain photos of women in compromising positions at the gym, and a video shot through a window showing women getting dressed at night, Stuff reported. 'In the past, I was in a downward spiral due to unresolved trauma and stress, and when confronted with the impacts of my behaviour a year ago, I sought professional help, which is something I wish I had done much earlier,' Forbes said in a statement. 'What I failed to do then was make a genuine attempt to apologise.'
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
New Zealand PM floats privacy laws after staffer accused of filming women
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is seen at Hyde Park Corner in London, U.K., Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Wellington, New Zealand -- New Zealand's prime minister floated new privacy laws on Thursday after his own press secretary was allegedly caught taping sex workers without consent. Senior aide Michael Forbes resigned after a local news outlet alleged he covertly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers and secretly photographed women at the gym. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was 'shocked' -- but it was unclear whether Forbes had broken the law. 'If you're a New Zealander you ask quite legitimate questions about how does this behaviour happen, and is it legal or illegal,' he told reporters on Thursday. 'I have that same reaction to it as well.' Luxon flagged new privacy laws could be drafted to clear up the legal grey area. Forbes -- who was Luxon's deputy chief press secretary -- apologized in a statement sent to media. 'I want to offer my sincerest apologies to the women I have harmed,' he said. The scandal came to light after a sex worker noticed Forbes's phone was recording audio while he took a shower, according to an investigation published Wednesday by New Zealand news outlet Stuff. Forbes phone was then found to contain photos of women in compromising positions at the gym, and a video shot through a window showing women getting dressed at night, Stuff reported. 'In the past, I was in a downward spiral due to unresolved trauma and stress, and when confronted with the impacts of my behaviour a year ago, I sought professional help, which is something I wish I had done much earlier,' Forbes said in a statement. 'What I failed to do then was make a genuine attempt to apologize.' By Ben Strang, AFP
The Independent
05-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Senior aide to New Zealand prime minister resigns over secret recordings of sex workers
A senior aide to New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon has resigned after being accused of secretly recording sex workers and taking non-consensual photos and videos of women. The allegations against Michael Forbes surfaced when a sex worker discovered his phone was recording audio while he was in the shower, NZ 's Stuff reported earlier this week. Mr Luxon's deputy chief press secretary has since offered his 'sincerest apologies to the women I have harmed'. PM Luxon called the revelations a 'shock' and said that Mr Forbes' behaviour was 'unacceptably short of the standards that I expect from our people'. 'My sympathy is with the women who raised these allegations and were made to feel unsafe due to the actions of this person,' Mr Luxon said on Thursday. According to Stuff, Mr Forbes' encounter with the sex worker took place in July 2024. After being confronted about the secret audio recording, he reportedly handed over his phone password. The woman, along with other sex workers from that brothel, discovered numerous audio recordings of similar sessions, along with photos and videos on the device. At the time, Mr Forbes was serving as press secretary to social development minister Louise Upston. He was appointed acting deputy chief press secretary to the prime minister in February this year. Police reportedly looked into the allegations in July last year but ultimately chose not to pursue charges. Mr Luxon said: 'We had no awareness, no knowledge of it. The concerns were raised with us by a journalist at four o'clock on Tuesday,' he said. The prime minister said that the police investigation was not disclosed to Mr Forbes' employer under the 'no surprises' convention, nor did Mr Forbes disclose the allegations himself. 'He was vetted coming into Louise Upston's office. As I understand it, the incidents happened subsequent to that,' he said. 'He has an obligation to actually declare those issues or those incidences to us. That didn't happen, which is why his employment would have been terminated.' In a statement to RNZ on Thursday, detective inspector John Van Den Heuvel from Wellington police said that 'on examining the phones, police also found a number of photos and video of women in public spaces, and what appears to be women in private addresses, taken from a distance away'. 'Police considered the available evidence and concluded it did not meet the requirements for criminality, and therefore charges could not be filed. 'The individual concerned voluntarily spoke with police and admitted to taking the images and recordings. He was reminded of the inappropriateness of his behaviour and encouraged to seek help.' Meanwhile, the prime minister said: 'When you have an incident like this, it actually creates a whole bunch of new questions.' He added: 'They need to do a deep dive on understanding how and what happened here and why. And importantly, then look at what we need to do to strengthen our processes.' In a statement, Mr Forbes said on Wednesday: 'In the past, I was in a downward spiral due to unresolved trauma and stress, and when confronted with the impacts of my behaviour a year ago, I sought professional help, which is something I wish I had done much earlier.' He said: 'What I failed to do then was make a genuine attempt to apologise. Instead, I tried to move on without offering those I had harmed the acknowledgement, accountability, or amends they deserved. I recognise how wrong that was.' 'I understand that my past actions may have undermined the trust people place in me. So, I have resigned from my job to focus on the work I need to do.' The office of Mr Forbes' former boss Mr Upston said in a statement: 'The minister was not aware of any allegations before they were raised with PMO yesterday. Minister Upston has nothing further to add to the PMs statement on this.'
The Guardian
05-06-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
New Zealand PM mulls privacy laws after aide ‘secretly recorded sex workers'
New Zealand's prime minister has suggested introducing new privacy laws after his deputy press secretary was allegedly caught making audio recordings of sex workers without consent. Michael Forbes, a senior aide, resigned after the local news outlet Stuff alleged he covertly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers and secretly photographed women at the gym. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said he was 'shocked' by the news – but it was unclear whether Forbes had broken the law. 'If you're a New Zealander you ask quite legitimate questions about how does this behaviour happen, and is it legal or illegal,' he told reporters on Thursday. 'I have that same reaction to it as well.' The manager of a Wellington brothel where the recordings allegedly took place told the broadcaster RNZ that privacy laws needed overhauling when it came to recording people without their knowledge. 'This is an issue for all women. Women are being recorded, photographed, filmed without their consent or knowledge and heaven only knows where it's ending up. This is the main issue and that's what needs to be focused on.' Luxon said new privacy laws could be drafted to clear up the legal grey area. 'I'm open to looking at our settings again as we go through this experience. We have a series of laws, whether it's the harmful digital bill, whether it's the privacy laws, or now new stalking laws, but we're open to looking at that further as well,' he said. The incidents were investigated by police but did not lead to any charges, Luxon said, and occurred after Forbes had been vetted to work for the social development minister, Louise Upston. Forbes had an obligation to declare those incidents to the prime minister's office 'because it impacts the office and the reputation of the office, for obvious reasons', Luxon said. 'But that didn't happen.' In a statement to RNZ, DI John Van Den Heuvel, the Wellington district manager of criminal investigations, said police also found 'a number of photos and video of women in public spaces, and what appears to be women in private addresses, taken from a distance away'. Police considered the available evidence and concluded it did not meet the requirements for criminality, and therefore charges could not be filed, he said. 'The individual concerned voluntarily spoke with police and admitted to taking the images and recordings. He was reminded of the inappropriateness of his behaviour and encouraged to seek help,' he said. Forbes deleted the images in the presence of police. Police were unable to progress the matter further, but should any new information arise, it would be 'thoroughly considered', Van Den Heuvel said. The police commissioner, Richard Chambers, told the media on Thursday the Department of Internal Affairs would conduct a 'deep dive' into what had happened. Chambers said the allegations were 'obviously very concerning' but did not believe police had erred by not charging Forbes. 'I have faith in the decisions that have been made based on the [information] that's been available to the investigation team or district crime manager in Wellington,' he said. Forbes, a former journalist who became Luxon's deputy chief press secretary in February, apologised in a statement sent to the media. 'I want to offer my sincerest apologies to the women I have harmed,' he said. 'In the past, I was in a downward spiral due to unresolved trauma and stress, and when confronted with the impacts of my behaviour a year ago, I sought professional help, which is something I wish I had done much earlier. 'What I failed to do then was make a genuine attempt to apologise. Instead, I tried to move on without offering those I had harmed the acknowledgment, accountability, or amends they deserved. I recognise how wrong that was.' 'I understand that my past actions may have undermined the trust people place in me. So I have resigned from my job to focus on the work I need to do.'
