PM assault accused visit Parliament

The two men accused of assaulting Prime Minister John Key on Waitangi Day were in Parliament today, at the invitation of their uncle Hone Harawira.

Mr Harawira, a Maori Party MP, has been criticised for supporting Wikatana Popata, 19, and John Junior Popata, 33, but he has been unrepentant about his previous comments.

"They've been down here for a week on a tribal archiving project and whenever whanau are down I always invite them for lunch," he said tonight on TV One news.

The pair have pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault and are due to appear in court again next month.

Last week NZPA reported comments Mr Harawira made in a newspaper column, which provoked criticism from Labour MP Kelvin Davis.

Mr Harawira said in the column their passions had spilled over on Waitangi Day and he hoped commonsense would prevail at their trial.

Asked why he was publicly supporting them, he said "we're Maori and we support one another all of the time".

Mr Davis said Mr Harawira' comments were "appalling" and gave the impression he did not think an assault on the prime minister was a serious matter.

- NZPA