Key confirms Jason Ede has quit
The National party spin doctor at the forefront of the Dirty Politics revelations quits.
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Hawke’s Bay
The National party spin doctor at the forefront of the Dirty Politics revelations, Jason Ede, has resigned after for 11 years' service to the party
Prime Minister John Key confirmed the resignation on TV3's Firstline this morning.
"... He's given 11 long years to the party and loyal service to the party. There are some comments made in the [Dirty Politics] book that I think we would all strongly disagree with. His primary role really started out as a media person for us and part of his role was talking to bloggers,” Mr Key said.
Mr Ede was a senior adviser to John Key, while he previously worked in a research and communications role for the Prime Minister.
Nicky Hager's Dirty Politics alleged Mr Ede fed information to WhaleOil blogger Cameron Slater, having accessed a Labour Party database without authorisation: a database containing sensitive personal information.
In Mr Hager’s book, Mr Ede, a former journalist, was described as National's "black ops" man. Working from the Prime Minister's Department, he liaised with Mr Slater and other right-wing bloggers, reportedly leaking them research and gossip.
Earlier this year, he moved from the Prime Minister's office to work for the National Party on its election campaign, yet was reported to have retained his staff access card to Parliament.
National Party general manager and party secretary Greg Hamilton says Jason Ede advised of his resignation, effective immediately, on Friday.
“Along with the Prime Minister and his office, we thank Jason for his 11 years of service to the National Party and wish him well for his future. We won’t be commenting further on this internal staffing matter,” Mr Hamilton says.
Jamie Ball
Mon, 22 Sep 2014
Mon, 22 Sep 2014
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Key confirms Jason Ede has quit
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