Journalist refers SIS questions to PR firm

The investigative journalist at the centre of the news story on Security Intelligence Service (SIS) spying on Maori organisations says he is under strict instructions not to comment on the matter.

"I'm not allowed to talk on that, sorry," Nicky Hager said when asked for a comment on Prime Minister Helen Clark statement yesterday that he and the paper had been "hoaxed".

Mr Hager said that he'd been given strict orders to refer people to Sunday Star-Times editor Cate Brett's PR person. "These are very heavy instructions," he said.

Helen Clark's comments followed the release of a report by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Justice Paul Neazor, which cleared the SIS.

He said the spy claims were "a work of fiction" by three men who were the source of the story.

Helen Clark said the Sunday Star-Times and the Scoop website, which also carried the story, might consider giving Justice Neazor's report the same prominence it gave the spy story in November last year.

"They were hoaxed by conmen, and there was nothing for the conmen to hang the story on," she said.

"They may wish to apologise to their readers and to the SIS for having printed an untrue and damaging story."

John Boyd of public relations company Donovan-Boyd, which is acting for Fairfax New Zealand, publishers of the Sunday Star-Times, said they had no comment to make.

- NZPA