The Judiciary was facing calls for an inquiry last night after a District Court judge accused two fellow judges and the New Zealand Government of 'political interference' in an ongoing case.
The claims are contained in signed statements made by two senior Legal Department lawyers, Ian McWalters and John Reading, who were separately approached at their Peak homes by Judge Brian Caird at the weekend.
They say Judge Caird accused the judges - who cannot be named for legal reasons - of trying to influence him in a case involving an alleged fraudster, New Zealand immigration consultant Aaron Nattrass.
In a statement marked 'confidential', Mr Reading says Judge Caird told him he had been approached by a fellow judge, who said the New Zealand Consulate had informed another judge that Nattrass was guilty.
'It was obvious that the judge [Caird] was very upset, and commented that this was the first time in his judicial career that political pressure had been brought to bear on him,' Mr Reading says in his statement.
But in open court yesterday, after a newspaper report of the allegations, Judge Caird denied he had been subjected to any pressure, political or otherwise, and said he did not feel he needed to act on 'gossip'.