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A leading Labour Party figure has revealed he could be the mystery texter who landed Prime Minister Helen Clark in hot water after she was spotted fiddling with her cellphone during a speech by the Queen.
Party president Mike Williams was in Sydney from Thursday until Sunday, watching
the Australian general election that saw Labour candidate Kevin Rudd sweep to power.
Queen Elizabeth's speech to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Uganda could have coincided with the release of crucial Aussie opinion poll results that he forwarded directly to Helen Clark.
He said he texted her about that time, with poll results that put Labour at 52 per cent approval, to the Liberals' 48 per cent,
"I don't remember her replying ... I don't think I got any response."
Helen Clark fell foul of Britain's Daily Express newspaper, which interpreted her texting as a sign of growing republican sentiment among Commonwealth leaders.
It is not the first time Helen Clark has been criticised by the British press. She incurred its wrath in 2002, when she wore trousers to a state banquet during the Queen's New Zealand visit. However, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said yesterday Helen Clark had "no recollection" of texting during the speech. That had been backed up by New Zealand officials travelling with the Prime Minister who also could not recall having seen her texting.
Mr Williams was last night unrepentant that his missives from half a world away could have got his Prime Minister into trouble.
He said he "probably did" text the Prime Minister during the Queen's speech - which paid tribute to outgoing Commonwealth head Don McKinnon, the opening of Uganda to the outside world, and the notion of "respecting difference, promoting understanding".
Mr Williams said: "It doesn't worry me at all. She is the Prime Minister of New Zealand, she has to be in contact with people at home."
Mr Williams said Helen Clark was responsible for "a lot of texting", and was the owner of Telecom and Vodafone mobile phones, and a Blackberry.
But the Prime Minister's alleged texting has infuriated East Coast Bays RSA patron Jack Linklater.
"I think its rude ... the height of ignorance," the 84-year-old veteran of campaigns in Greece and Italy said yesterday.
The club had introduced its own cellphone policy, which saw club association members sent outside to talk on their cellphones, and encouraged to retire outdoors when texting, he said
Had Helen Clark been caught texting at her old primary, Hamilton's Te Pahu School, the phone would have been confiscated, and her parents summoned to school to collect it, principal Jeff Falconer said yesterday.
The school - with a role of 150 - has about six students with cellphones. The youngsters are required to surrender their phones in the morning, but are allowed to clear any messages at playtime and lunch break.
