It has been revealed the National Party's newest MP was asked to leave a prestigious boarding school, after a night-time attack on a younger boy.
Sam Uffindell was elected as the MP for Tauranga in June. A story by Kirsty Johnstone at Stuff.co.nz says he was asked to leave Kings College in Auckland when he was in Year 11.
In a statement, Uffindell says he and some other students in his year went into another dorm at the boarding house at the end of term and he punched a younger student in the arm and body multiple times.
He says he was subsequently asked to leave the school. Uffindell says he's reflected on the incident multiple times over the 20 years since it happened and has no recollection of using anything other than his fists.
He says it's one of the stupidest things he's ever done and something he deeply regrets. The MP says after he came back to New Zealand, he called the person and apologised for the harm he'd caused.
He says they had a long conversation and he was grateful that he accepted the apology. He says his apology was genuine then, and it is genuine now.
The National Party has a new president, who was elected at their conference on the weekend.
This morning, Sylvia Wood, who is an employment relations specialist, defended her party's candidate selection process.
