Todd Barclay refuses questions over allegations

Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay has again declined to answer questions about the controversy that led to his retirement.

Barclay returned to Parliament yesterday, and this morning again declined to answer questions from media before attending an education select committee.

Those questions included whether he would be interviewed by police, who have re-opened their investigation into a complaint from his former staff member Glenys Dickson that her conversations were secretly recorded.

Yesterday, Barclay came out of hiding, returning to Parliament with a cheery smile as if the past month never happened.

The National Clutha-Southland MP hasn't been seen in Wellington since he was forced to resign over allegations he secretly recorded a staff member in his Gore electorate office hit the headlines again last month.

Barclay has avoided answering any questions from the media since it was revealed he told Prime Minister Bill English that he had recordings of staff criticising him.

Yesterday was no different, however he did smile and offered a happy "good morning" to a camera crew waiting for him at the building's front entrance.

It's not clear if Barclay's return to Wellington this week means he will stay the final four weeks of the term before Parliament rises ahead of the September election.

Barclay's workload since his decision to retire has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
After appearing to take some time off after the allegations resurfaced, and police relaunched their investigation, Barclay posed for a picture on his Facebook page on Tuesday with a caption indicating he was "working on constituent issues".

Since then the page has been flooded with pictures of Barclay posing with various projects and a flashback photo from his childhood.