Summarised by Centrist
Police Minister Mark Mitchell’s electorate office responded to an email accusing former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming of sexual abuse months before Mitchell says he first became aware of the allegations.
The acknowledgement came from an electorate office staffer, understood to be Mitchell’s sister, in January 2024. She told the sender the matter related to Mitchell’s ministerial role and said it would be forwarded to his parliamentary office.
Mitchell said the correct procedure was followed because electorate staff are not ministerial employees and do not handle ministerial correspondence.
He confirmed that 17 of the 36 emails sent to his ministerial office were also sent to his Whangaparāoa electorate inbox. “I am satisfied that all my team at both electorate and ministerial level have acted appropriately and diligently,” he said. Mitchell reiterated that he first learned of the allegations on November 6, 2024, when briefed by then-Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.
It was previously reported that the ministerial office had received the emailed allegations, but Mitchell has maintained that Coster’s office instructed staff not to pass them on. A police memo seen by the Herald described a protocol where police staff in the Beehive forwarded such emails directly to the Commissioner’s office, bypassing the minister and his political staff. Coster has not commented, citing an ongoing employment process.
After the revelations, Mitchell’s office wrote to current Commissioner Richard Chambers seeking assurances that correspondence previously diverted to police had been appropriately handled.
