‘Piercing eyes’: Australian MP Jamie Briggs quits post after ‘acting inappropriately’ at Hong Kong bar with public servant

A late-night incident with a female public servant in a Hong Kong bar has led to the resignation of the Australian minister for cities and built environment.

Liberal party member Jamie Briggs announced at a press conference Tuesday he was stepping down from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s ministry, saying his behaviour hadn’t met ministerial standards.

“At no point was it my intention to act inappropriate and I’m obliged to note for the record that nothing illegal has been alleged or in fact did occur,” Briggs said.

Briggs visited Hong Kong at the end of November as part of an international tour of major public transport systems. He toured Hong Kong’s MTR headquarters and posed with MTR non-executive director Victor Chan Hin-fu for photos on the Airport Express.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Briggs said after the official business of his overseas trip was concluded, he, his chief of staff and the public servant went to “a popular and, as it transpired, very crowded bar for drinks”.

He said they had interacted in an “informal” manner, after which Briggs had returned to his hotel with his chief of staff.