Legal threat over John Key's hair habit

John Key joked about cutting Brooke Coburn's hair before opening Springston School's hall. Photo / Geoff Sloan

Serial litigant is ready to act, old incidents recalled and Judith Collins defends her boss.

Prime Minister John Key's touching of a waitress' ponytail came after he let his guard down in a place where he felt comfortable, National MP Judith Collins says.

Ms Collins' defence of her boss came as more examples of him grabbing ponytails and pigtails emerged yesterday, as well as a threat of legal action.

Five video clips or photographs showing the Prime Minister touching people's hair were screened on last night's 3News.

And a Wellington man who said his daughter's friends had their ponytails tugged by the Prime Minister late last year told the Herald, "It looks as if this is a thing he does, it's a way of interacting, it seems."

Mr Key is in Turkey for World War I commemorations after earlier apologising to cafe worker Amanda Bailey, 26, who complained he repeatedly touched her ponytail.

Ms Collins said she had a great deal of sympathy for Ms Bailey, who had been put in a difficult position and took the action she deemed necessary.

However, she did not believe there was any ill-intent behind the ponytail pulling.

"The Prime Minister was in a very safe environment from his point of view - he is very relaxed there.

"He is someone who obviously often has his guard down, and when he is sitting with his wife in a very comfortable environment, his guard has obviously been down. And this is a story because he is the Prime Minister."

However, the Green Party said Mr Key should be judged by the standards that had been the downfall of MPs and state sector leaders.

"Backbench MP Aaron Gilmore lost his job for abusing a waiter, a former Cera chief, Roger Sutton, lost his job for behaving in a way that women in his office found offensive," Greens co-leader Metiria Turei said.

Labour Party MP Jacinda Ardern

Labour MP Jacinda Ardern said Mr Key's behaviour was strange and had made Ms Bailey very uncomfortable.

"I simply cannot imagine a grown man pulling on my ponytail.

"Let alone doing it more than once."

Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox called Mr Key's behaviour "silly" and "obviously inappropriate", and said Ms Bailey was brave to have spoken out.

"When it was clearly made known to the Prime Minister he shouldn't be acting in that way, he stopped the behaviour. So I'm not going to be lining up to throw stones."

Mark Blackham of BlacklandPR said his 12-year-old daughter watched Wednesday night's television news and said, "That's what the Prime Minister did at Te Papa to my two friends."

Mr Blackham, who has advised senior politicians from Labour, National and the Greens and the Internet Party, said his daughter had visited Te Papa on a school trip late last year.

He has since blogged about the incident on his political strategy blog, Political Business.

"I guess she was a bit amazed, she was just intrigued that it had happened to her friends as well, she was surprised," Mr Blackham told the Herald.

"I don't think [the friends] were perturbed, it was no big deal ... it looks as if this is a thing he does, it's a way of interacting, it seems.

"I think it puts a bit more perspective on it ... I don't know if it's affectionate or what it is, but it's clearly a thing he does."

In another incident on April 7, 2014, a segment of Campbell Live included a scene of Mr Key pulling a girl's hair at Omaha.

Serial litigant Graham McCready yesterday said he would file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and take the case to court, claiming it was sexual harassment.

Mr McCready told Newstalk ZB his action could distress Amanda Bailey but "this incident is too important, too much in the public interest for that not to happen".

PM's history of being hands-on

While on the campaign trail during the 2011 election, political reporter Claire Trevett wrote about John Key's touching habits in a story headlined: Chatting and touching in the battle for votes.

"Key's other technique is touch. He has patted his way around the country - tickling toddlers' stomachs, chucking chins, ruffling hair, rubbing women on the upper arm and patting shoulders, clasping men's arms.

"It appears casual, but is too frequent and too obvious to be anything but deliberate. This prime ministerial laying on of the hands is something he did not do in 2008. It is aimed at reinforcing a personal connection. It also shows an astounding level of confidence.

Touch is a very personal thing. Yet nobody pulls away apart from a few children."