Maxim Institute founder departs

Maxim Institute founder and director Bruce Logan, whose plagiarism has badly dented the image of the conservative Christian lobby group, has retired.

A statement issued by the Maxim Institute says that its board accepted Mr Logan's resignation at its last meeting on Wednesday.

"Bruce Logan has spoken of retirement over the past couple of years, and the board has agreed that now is an appropriate time for Bruce's departure," says board chairman Peter McNee.

In the wake of the scandal, Mr Logan returned to work, but told the Herald he was not enjoying the experience. His daughter, Alexis Stuart, a freelance Christchurch columnist, was also found to have plagiarised other writers' work. She consequently lost her job.

NZPA reports that last month, Mr Logan issued a public apology after he was accused of taking tracts of other writers' work and presenting them as his own in opinion articles published throughout New Zealand by newspapers.

The scandal arose after the Press newspaper dumped Mr Logan's daughter as a columnist. A reader discovered similarities between one of her columns and an article written by Mr Logan, which the newspaper's inquiries confirmed.