Police Minister Mark Mitchell says claims from former police commissioner Andrew Coster that he knew more than previously admitted about allegations made against Jevon McSkimming are "complete and utter nonsense".
Mitchell said he was first informed of misconduct allegations regarding the disgraced former deputy police commissioner last November.
In an interview with TVNZ's Q+A with Jack Tame which aired on Sunday, Coster said there were ministers who knew more than they had publicly admitted, including then minister of police Chris Hipkins in 2022, and later Mitchell.
He said Mitchell's assertion he had been informed of misconduct allegations on November 6, 2024, during Coster's final days as police commissioner, was "not correct" and claimed the pair had discussed it informally at some stage through the course of 2024.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell has responded to claims from Andrew Coster that he was told about aspects of the Jevon McSkimming case earlier than it was made public. (Source: Breakfast)
Mitchell told Breakfast he was unaware of the allegations before November 6, 2024, and that he would have acted sooner if he had been made aware as Coster claimed.
"If he had brought forward to me at all any issues around Ms Z and Mr McSkimming and laid out the facts for me, then I would have said exactly the same thing that I said to him on the sixth of November: what support has been put in place for Ms Z?
"I'm a father with daughters, and I've been an MP for 15 years, and one of our jobs as a local MP is to protect people against the power of the state."
Asked if it was possible he may have had a casual conversation that he didn't recall, Mitchell said it would not be a conversation he would have forgotten.
"That is not a casual conversation when you're talking about a deputy commissioner that has entered into an extramarital affair, where there is a big age gap, where there is a power imbalance, where he created a job for her in the police, and when the relationship ended, there seemed to be no one who was listening to her."
He said the only thoughts Coster had shared with him about McSkimming were "simply glowing endorsements of his performance and his capability".
"He was heavily invested in Jevon McSkimming becoming his successor as commissioner."
Hipkins has also pushed back on claims from Coster that he told the former PM and ex-police minister about the McSkimming situation while travelling together in the South Island in July 2022.
"I have no recollection of this conversation. Had I been informed, Jevon McSkimming would not have been appointed to the role (as statutory deputy commissioner)," he told Q+A in a statement.
Luxon has backed Police Minister Mark Mitchell in the wake of Coster’s interview on Q+A with Jack Tame. (Source: Breakfast)
'100% faith': Luxon backs Mitchell
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he "backed Mark Mitchell big time" and that he had "100% faith" in him.
Speaking to Breakfast, he acknowledged the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report, which found "massive failings of leadership" within the police, but said the priority now was rebuilding trust and strengthening oversight.
"What’s really important here is there’s a young woman at the heart of this case, and wrongdoing by a very senior police officer. We need to make sure we put the strongest oversight mechanisms we possibly can around police behaviour going forward."
Luxon confirmed the Government will introduce an Inspector-General for Police, calling it the "strongest mechanism any government can put in place".
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