KEY POINTS:
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters claims he doesn't have to comply with an injunction relating to National Leader Don Brash's emails because any copies he had were destroyed when police began investigating.
Dr Brash believes the emails were stolen and has asked police to investigate.
He also gained a temporary injunction prohibiting their publication.
One of the effects of the High Court order is that anyone who has copies of Dr Brash's emails without authority should lodge them with the High Court.
Mr Peters has claimed in Parliament that he had many of Dr Brash's emails and they were politically explosive.
Today Mr Peters said the leaker had distributed them quite widely, but he no longer had his.
"What I can say is that when the police first became involved, a staff decision was made in my absence to destroy any emails we had," Mr Peters said.
Last December, Mr Peters taunted National MPs in Parliament saying they were wondering whether he had "one telephone book full of those emails, or 10".
"Well, I have to tell those members that, in all this excitement, I myself clean forgot to count them," Mr Peters said then.
"This is the most damaging information seen in the western world, and could blow their political heads clean off."
At the time many National MPs doubted Mr Peters had any material at all.
After saying his copies had been destroyed by staff, Mr Peters attacked Dr Brash asking what it was he had to hide from.
"It is time National came clean. The public wants to know what the fuss is all about. If the emails are just about National Party organisation, then no-one will be interested, and NZ First has always been clear it would never use the personal stuff".
Mr Peters said Dr Brash knew who the leaker was.
This is denied by Dr Brash.
Mr Peters claimed Dr Brash was trying to lay "a trail of blue herrings" to hide the nature of the emails and questions over his leadership.
- NZPA
