Former colleague of Brigadier leaked letter to Bradford

A former Deputy Secretary of Defence today said he leaked the controversial army letter to National MP Max Bradford not Brigadier Ian Marshall.

Robin Johansen, a civilian responsible for defence
equipment acquisitions, said Brigadier Marshall gave him the letter - which revealed a campaign by colleagues to gain a larger slice of defence spending at the expense of the Air Force and Navy - so he could better understand the fierce lobbying he faced in his job.

"The brigadier passed the letter to me, offering it as a possible explanation of the difficulties we had experienced," Mr Johansen said.

Brigadier Marshall, who holds a high-ranking management position at defence headquarters in Wellington, confessed to the leak to Defence chief Air Marshal Carey Adamson on Monday night.

He was suspended on full pay.

Mr Johansen said while the defence force had no choice but to suspend Brigadier Marshall, it should take into account his motives when considering what to do next.

Max Bradford, the former National government defence minister and now the party's defence spokesman, confirmed Brig Marshall had not leaked the letter to him.

The Gordon letter, written to fellow officers, suggested the army should start what Mr Bradford described as a "covert campaign" to influence people so it could gain a bigger share of the defence budget. It has been dismissed as a private letter between officers, despite being written on an army letterhead.

Mr Bradford said: "If the Gordon letter hadn't seen the light of day, the army's conspiracy to capture defence policy and money would have continued to poison the country's defence forces."

He called on Defence Minister Mark Burton to also suspend those implicated by the Gordon letter and other material as being involved in the "conspiracy".

"The Government is punishing the messenger, and at that, the wrong messenger," Mr Bradford said.

Mr Burton said today wider issues surrounding the alleged campaign were still being considered by Judge Advocate General Peter Trapski, whose report on the matter is expected to be completed at the end of this month.

He warned there would be "further and wider issues" to address as a consequence of that report, including the campaign, the series of leaks and "those who may have been involved in them".

"I don't care what side of particular debates the responsible persons are. There is an obligation to handle matters and material in an appropriate manner."

- NZPA