James Ashby has pre-emted police and gone to them in a bid to clear Brough. I'll let you decide about the pre-emptive strike, but to me that seems a bit suspicious. To go to the cops to head things off doesn't seem quite right. I've known people in the past that have done that and it's been because they're guilty but want to cop's attention diverted from them.
Roy was only a first term young MP and out of his depth, so he spoke to Pyne about what to do. After speaking with Pyne, Ashby was given a sheet of paper with instructions of how to proceed. In those instructions was one which said to get a copy of Peter Slipper's diary.
Whichever way you look at it, somebody is guilty. If not the whole 4 of them. The fact remains that Peter Slipper's confidential diary was copied and shared with a third person, or persons. I can't see how Ashby's explanation makes that any less of a crime.
Mr Ashby said he first spoke to Mr Roy in 2012 about his alleged sexual harassment by Mr Slipper and that the then first-term MP had later sought advice from Innovation Minister Christopher Pyne.
“Wyatt said he didn’t really know how to advise me and said he wanted to speak with
Christopher Pyne,’’ he said. “He then called me back and I went and saw him in his office and he presented me a sheet of paper with instructions of what I should do, and one of the first steps was to get a copy of the office diary. “That is how I came to be printing off a copy of the digital diary — it was evidence in my case.’’
Mr Ashby said his lawyers had the sheet of paper and it “would undoubtedly have Wyatt’s fingerprints on it’’.
A spokesman for Mr Roy declined to comment, but it is understood he claims only to have told Mr Ashby to “diarise events” if he intended to file any action.
Mr Ashby said Mr Roy had said he did not want any further involvement, and it was then that he approached Mr Brough for help.
“I met with Mal and he said at one stage that he was interested in Slipper’s use of taxpayer entitlements and about a few trips he had taken to New Zealand and I said I had a copy of his diary and would check it out,’’ he said.
“So I went home and pulled the copy of the diary out of my cupboard, took some pictures of the relevant dates and sent them to Mal. He couldn’t read them and texted me and asked if I could send them again — that’s hardly procuring me.’’
Last year Mr Brough told the Nine Network that he had asked Mr Ashby for copies of the MP’s diary in 2012 for his use. The Australian
Here’s Mal Brough in his own words - unedited - on deliberately procuring Peter Slipper’s diaries. #60Mins
https://t.co/rpxWqBjthq
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) December 1, 2015
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