Prime Minister Bill English is not denying that he sent hundreds of text messages to a former staffer who complained to the police about National MP Todd Barclay.
English would not confirm an allegation by NZ First Winston Peters that he sent 450 texts to Barclay's electorate staff member Glenys Dickson in a year, some of them in the middle of the night.
But he did discount the allegation, and said that he sometimes texted people at 1am if he could not get hold of them.
However, he rejected the suggestion that his regular communication with Dickson meant he was more involved in the controversy than he first let on.
Peters targeted English over his involvement in the case in Parliament last week. English declined to comment at the time.