KEY POINTS:
Don Brash says claims he knows who stole the hundreds of emails which were used in the Hollow Men book were "unadulterated crap", and says the police failure to discover the culprit should make other MPs nervous.
The police yesterday closed the investigation into the theft of Dr Brash's emails from between 2003 and 2005, saying it was "a mystery" how the emails were taken and who by.
Detective Inspector Harry Quinn said police had ruled out external hacking into Parliament's computers to access the emails.
He said there were strong indications that printed - rather than electronic - versions of the emails were taken. However, despite "theories" on who took them there was no firm evidence and police were closing the file.
The finding has renewed claims it was an inside job - which Dr Brash and National Party leader John Key continue to deny.
Yesterday NZ First leader Winston Peters - who also had copies of emails - said the leak was from inside Dr Brash's office.
"I know that. So does Dr Brash. Going to the police and laying a complaint was an absolute fraud and a feint, he knew who the person was."
Dr Brash said Mr Peters' claims were "unadulterated crap".
"I have no idea who the culprit was. If I knew who it was, I would have blown the whistle."
Dr Brash said the finding helped nobody and was a warning for all MPs.
"I think when the Leader of the Opposition has computer emails stolen on a very large scale, no one in Parliament can feel secure. [The police] strongly implied the offence was by someone within Parliament. That means the culprits are either MPs' parliamentary staff, or Parliament's computer staff. As long as they don't find a culprit everyone is under suspicion."
Yesterday Nicky Hager - who has always insisted the emails were from leaks within National - said the party should apologise to him for claiming the information was from hacking into the system, rather than "legitimate leaks".
"I believe the National Party used the allegations of theft, and thereby wasted police resources, to try to distract attention away from the serious revelations in the book."
John Key said he was not satisfied with the police conclusion.
He doubted the emails were from an insider. "I think there's no chance of that. I'm not actually satisfied there hasn't been someone hacking into our system."
The police decision led to renewed jibes in Parliament the leak was from National deputy leader Bill English's office.
Dr Brash said he heard such allegations made in the past.
"I've got no reason to believe anybody among my parliamentary colleagues would have done such a thing," he said.
Prime Minister Helen Clark also hinted at an insider, saying it was "curious" police were unable to find the culprit.
"It's a very mysterious business. If there was no intrusion into the parliamentary server then one assumes there was only a very limited number of people who had access."
Mr Hager used nearly 500 emails written between 2003 and 2005 between Dr Brash and several key National Party MPs and staffers in his Hollow Men book - a political expose on the National Party's inner sanctum and its supporters.
The book, published in 2006, was seen as a catalyst for Dr Brash's resignation as leader soon after.
