New Zealand PM ‘Shocked’ Over Staff Allegations of Secret Recordings of Women

A member of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s staff has resigned after being accused of secretly taking photos and videos of women, and recording audio of sex workers.

Michael Forbes, Luxon’s deputy chief press secretary, offered his “sincerest apologies to the women I have harmed”.

The allegations came to light after a sex worker said she noticed that Forbes’ phone had been recording audio while he was in the shower, local news website Stuff reported earlier this week.

His phone was later found to contain more photos and videos of women as well as audio recordings of his sexual encounters.

here were images of women at the gym and in the supermarket, as well as four videos of women in their homes, with the footage apparently taken from a window.

Luxon said Forbes’ case came as an “absolute shock” and that he had “zero tolerance for any behaviour that makes women or anyone feel unsafe”.

“My sympathy is with the women who raised these allegations and who were made to feel unsafe due to the actions of this person,” he said on Thursday, a day after Forbes resigned.

Luxon, along with other political leaders, have signaled an openness to changing privacy laws to better protect targets of voyeurism.