Source: Radio New Zealand
Jevon McSkimming. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says he had “absolutely no idea” about allegations staff were instructed to redirect emails about Jevon McSkimming from the Minister of Police’s office.
On Wednesday, RNZ revealed Coster had resigned as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency, after the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s damning report into police’s response to allegations of sexual offending by former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.
Coster has not responded to several interview requests from RNZ.
In an interview with TVNZ’s Q+A on Sunday, Coster was asked about comments made by Police Minister Mark Mitchell, who earlier said 36 emails containing allegations about McSkimming were sent to his office, but he never saw them.
A protocol had been put in place for police staff in Mitchell’s ministerial office to forward the emails directly to then-Commissioner Andrew Coster’s office, and not share them with Mitchell or his political staff, he said.
On Sunday, Coster said the first he heard of the allegation was after the IPCA report was released.
“I had absolutely no knowledge of that whatsoever. I can’t validate whether that was, in fact, a protocol that was in place, but what I can say is there’s no way in the world that agency employed staff in a minister’s office are able to prevent the minister or the minister’s staff from seeing email coming in on the minister’s email address.
“The role of the agency staff is to have emails given to them by the minister’s own staff to prepare responses for the minister through the agency, there’s just, there’s just no way that police staff in Minister’s office could, could somehow intercept.”
Coster said he had seen a file note that was prepared by police in recent weeks, which said there was a conversation between the head of ministerial services – who is not in the minister’s office – and the director of Coster’s office about emails that came through in late 2023 and early 2024.
“It was ‘there are these emails. What do I do with them?’… the file note says the direction was send them through to Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura, who was overseeing the process.”
Coster did not know why the “retrospective note” was created.
“I imagine there will have been some concern across more than one Minister’s office about … where did all these emails go, and who saw them and and I assume that this paperwork was created in response to those conversations.”
On Sunday, chief operating officer Andrea Conlan said police could confirm a handwritten file note was made at the time of a discussion with the director of the office of the former commissioner on 17 January, 2024, regarding the processing of emails to the minister’s office.
The manager of Ministerial Services was asked to speak with the minister’s office staff on 11 November, 2025, to outline how the emails sent to the office were handled.
“The handwritten file note was typed up by the manager after that conversation (and some detail added from memory). This was to make a digital record in parallel with the email the manager was asked to provide the minister’s office confirming the earlier conversation (and the process followed) in writing.
“Nobody asked for the file note to be prepared, but a confirmation email was requested by the minister’s office following the conversation on the morning of 11 November.
“Following the 17 January, 2024 conversation, at the request of the director of the office of the (former) commissioner, the manager of Ministerial Services provided hard copies of the emails to the (former) commissioner’s office.”
Mark Mitchell. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The manager also spoke to the staff member in the minister’s office to convey the director’s instruction.
“This was not included in the file note, but these actions corroborate what was documented in the manager’s original handwritten file note.”
Mitchell had previously also defended the police staff in his ministerial office, saying they were put in an “awful situation” by the protocol, which he was unaware of.
Coster fronts
On Wednesday, RNZ revealed Coster had resigned as Social Investment Agency chief executive, after the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s (IPCA) damning report into police response to allegations of sexual offending by McSkimming.
Coster has not responded to several interview requests from RNZ. In a statement on Wednesday, he said his resignation was “a result of my acceptance of full responsibility for the shortcomings” identified in the IPCA’s report.
In an interview with TVNZ’s Q+A on Sunday, Coster said there were ministers who knew more than they admitted.
He said he briefed the then-Minister of Police Chris Hipkins in 2022, as he felt it was important Hipkins knew what he knew.
Andrew Coster. RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Coster said he told Hipkins that McSkimming told him he had an affair with a “much younger woman” and that the relationship “soured badly”, and she was now emailing “all sorts of people with allegations about him”.
He said the briefing was in the back of a car, while the two men were travelling in the South Island. He said he was unable to prove the conversation occurred.
“It’s simply my account.”
He said a big reflection for him was to take better notes, adding he wrongly assumed people would not “run for the hills”.
He also disputed that Mitchell was not aware of the allegations before November last year.
“There is no way I was only just telling him about this in my last couple of weeks in the job,” he said. “We had discussed this informally through 2024.”
He did not have the exact date, but said it was an “informal conversation” in the same terms as his conversation with Hipkins.
Asked why Hipkins and Mitchell would deny that, he said: “You would have to ask them. All I can say is no-one wants to be close to this.”
Coster said he was not saying others acted inappropriately, but that they knew more than they have admitted.
“There doesn’t appear to have been a full disclosure of the conversations.”
Asked why he should be trusted, Coster replied: “I acted honestly, I acted in good faith. My judgements were wrong, and I accept that.”
Chris Hipkins. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Politicians reject Coster’s claims
Responding to Coster’s allegations, Mitchell said it was “disappointing that, following his resignation, that came with an apology to police less than a week ago, Coster is trying to deflect and relitigate matters”.
“I firmly stand by all my statements and facts presented in relation to the IPCA report. Coster’s recollections are wrong.
“I want to make very clear that Coster never briefed me, either formally or informally, about Jevon McSkimming and [the woman had had an affair with] prior to 6 November, 2024. I would note his recollections of disclosures in the IPCA report were often found to be inconsistent and unreliable.
“If Coster’s focus is on relitigating matters, there are legal resources available to him and, if he truly believes what he is saying, nothing prevents him pursuing those.”
Mitchell said that, as a government, the focus was on “implementing the recommendations of the IPCA report to ensure this cannot happen again”.
Hipkins also denied Coster’s allegations.
“I was never briefed on Jevon McSkimming’s relationship with [the woman] during my time as minister of police or prime minister. Had I known what has now been detailed in the IPCA report, Jevon McSkimming would never have been appointed to the role.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
