Laws told off

Michael Laws had enough on his plate before getting into a scrap with police minister Judith "Crusher" Collins.

But he is unrepentant after radio comments that Colins said were wrong and unnecessarily tied up police resources.

Laws' obligations are extensive. He is Mayor of Wanganui, sits on the local health board, is the Radio Live morning host and star of his own television show.

As well, his daughter Lucy is battling cancer and he and wife Leonie Brookhammer have separated.

On Friday, Laws told his Radio Live audience of a violent and unstable inmate who had been released from prison - a release police had tried to keep secret because it could spark a "dangerous reaction".

Then he named the street he believed the man lived on.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Police and Corrections Minister Judith Collins said the address was wrong. Fearing members of the public might be hurt, police sent a car to patrol the street but "all was quiet".

Laws said he had received numerous calls thanking him for the information. "Until the Ministry of Corrections and/or Probation name the street then I'm far from convinced that I had the wrong one."

He stands by his sources. "A principal of a local school rang my show and we put her on the air. Everything I said at 9am was true, including a secret police briefing of principals."

The public was entitled to the information, he added. "I see it as my public service."

A police spokeswoman would not talk about what police resources were used.