Clark says Labour reimbursed Williams for fraud trip

A trip to Melbourne by Labour Party president Mike Williams to try and link National leader John Key to historic fraudulent foreign exchange deals was paid for by the party, Prime Minister Helen Clark admitted today.

Mr Williams spent several days examining documents surrounding the so-called H-Fee -- two payments totalling $A66.5 million ($75 million) to Equiticorp funnelled via sham foreign exchange transactions in 1988.

The documents, which included a signature on a cheque which bore a striking resemblance to Mr Key's, did not provide the evidence sought.

The cheque was actually signed by an Australian-based executive of the firm Mr Key worked for.

The Labour Party has copped public criticism about wasting time and money in apparent attempts to dig dirt on Mr Key.

Miss Clark said yesterday Mr Williams paid for the Melbourne excursion himself, but today said on Newstalk ZB that she had since been updated on the situation.

"He (Mr Williams) told me he paid for it, he now tells me he got reimbursed by the party..." she said.

Miss Clark said she didn't know how much in terms of resources from the party's research unit was focused on gathering information about the issue.

"The National Party research unit has been trawling over my past for 27 years, so there's nothing new about that."

Miss Clark said Mr Williams considered there were "questions to be answered" over the H-Fee issue.

She said she considered that to be the case herself, but wouldn't be drawn further.

"I'm not into the issue enough to even go through the questions."

Mr Key yesterday dismissed suggestions that Miss Clark was detached from the issue.

"Of course the Prime Minister was involved. She is in daily contact with her president. You think she would have noticed that he is out of the country for a few days and asked where he was," Mr Key said.

"The Labour Party and the Labour Government are focused on digging the dirt on me."

Mr Key said Mr Williams should have had more important things to do than act as "a super sleuth", and that he had been open and honest about what he knew and didn't know about the issue.

Former Serious Fraud Office head Charles Sturt, who interviewed Mr Key about the transactions, said Mr Key was one of scores of people interviewed, and there was "not a scintilla of evidence" linking him to anything untoward.