Tom Scott evicted

Press, 21 October 1980, Page 6

Tom Scott evicted

! ...y M From front page 3 ■ ■

Mr. Scott said ;he went along to .the news confer-; enee because he was anxious to know about the leadership issue. “I think it is an issue the ’Listener’ is entitled to be present to hear,” he said. He had gone also to give Mr Muldoon 5 a “model opportunity” to indicate that he had mended his ways.- “I think he has missed a wonderful opportunity, a publicity coup,” Mr Scott said. - /

Mr Scott commented, “That’s fine, that’s okay,” when asked how he felt about being told to leave. “I’ll find out what went wrong later.” ' ’ Questioned later, Mr Muldoon said he did not want to be “difficult about this. But when a fellow deliberately and provocatively challenges me I have got to do something about it.” Mr Muldoon said Mr Scott had made an issue earlier this year that his news conferences were for daily journalists. When told that other weekly journalists had attended, Mr Muldoon said that so long as they sat tight and did not ask questions there was no problem.

“But when they make an issue of it in their newspapers, as he did, then I have simply got to apply the rules.”

Last evening Mr Carthew delivered a letter to the’ Prime Minister’s ,

Office advising him that if Mr Muldoon felt a remark to be insulting he should take it up with the journalist concerned, or with that journalist’s superiors. He told NZPA that the Press Gallery could not be held responsible for questions or statements made at a press conference.