US Edition'Serious and concerning': PM's deputy press sec resigns amid allegations of recording sex workers
- In June 2025, Michael Forbes, deputy chief press secretary to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, resigned following accusations that he secretly recorded audio of encounters with sex workers and captured private images of women.
- The allegations arose after a Wellington sex worker discovered audio recordings on Forbes' phone during a July 2024 encounter, and complaints had been made to police the previous July but did not lead to prosecution.
- The phone contained photos and videos of women in various locations, including gyms, supermarkets, and private homes, while Luxon and other leaders expressed willingness to reform privacy laws to better protect victims of voyeurism.
- Forbes issued a public apology, explaining that he had been struggling with unresolved trauma and stress at the time of the incidents, sought professional support over the past year, and admitted that he did not properly apologize to those affected when the incidents occurred.
- The Prime Minister's Office immediately referred the matter to Ministerial Services, with Forbes resigning before his employment could be terminated, and Luxon called for a review of inter-agency processes to understand and address such conduct.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayNZ PM mulls privacy law shake-up after aide accused of filming women
WELLINGTON, June 5 — New Zealand’s prime minister floated new privacy laws on Thursday after his own press secretary was allegedly caught taping sex workers without consent. Senior aide Michael Forbes resigned after a local news outlet alleged he covertly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers and secretly photographed women at the gym. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was “shocked” — but it was unclear whether Forbes had broken the…
How were the alleged actions of the PM’s press secretary not illegal?
The case of a senior Beehive staffer who resigned over allegations that police said didn’t meet the threshold for prosecution highlights the limits of existing laws when it comes to non-consensual recording, harassment and image-based harm. The sudden resignation this week of one of prime minister Christopher Luxon’s senior press secretaries was politically embarrassing, but also raises questions about how New Zealand law operates in such cases…
Luxon's press secretary resigns over allegedly recording sex workers
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ The Prime Minister's deputy chief press secretary has resigned after allegedly recording audio of sessions with Wellington sex workers and taking intimate photos of women in public.
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