Peters stands by 'treason' comments

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has repeated his comment that the Herald is a "treasonous" newspaper.

He first attacked the paper at the New Zealand First conference in Rotorua yesterday, saying its criticism of his performance could be seen as treason.

He took issue with the Herald's reporting of his trip to the Apec summit in Korea, and an editorial published last Wednesday under the headline Clayton's Foreign Minister.

The Herald said today it stood by its editorial and its reporting of the Apec issues from Korea.

Asked about his attitude today on National Radio, Mr Peters repeated his description of the paper.

"The New Zealand Herald is a treasonous newspaper," he said.

He claiming the Herald refused to publish what he had said at the summit about his meeting with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

His complaint seems to be that an account of the meeting was published by the Herald, which he disputed, and that the Herald then did not publish his account of it.

Prime Minister Helen Clark, also interviewed this morning on National Radio, said she was not going to get involved in a row between the Herald and Mr Peters.

- NZPA