Post by Flash on Aug 18, 2007 13:00:28 GMT -5
Kevin Rudd hits a strip club
Article from: The Sunday Telegraph
By Glenn Milne
August 19, 2007 12:00am
KEVIN Rudd's hopes of becoming Prime Minister have been rocked by a visit to a New York strip club where he was warned against inappropriate behaviour during a drunken night while representing Australia at the United Nations.
Mr Rudd yesterday issued a statement to The Sunday Telegraph, confirming he went to the club. But he said he could not recall what happened at the night spot because he had "had too much to drink''.
"If my behaviour caused any offence to anybody whatsoever that evening, I of course wholeheartedly apologise'' he said.
Mr Rudd went to the Manhattan "gentlemen's club'' Scores in September, 2003, when he was Shadow foreign affairs minister.
He was in New York at taxpayers' expense as a bipartisan observer at the UN.
Mr Rudd went to the club, which is a well-known haunt of UN diplomats and journalists, with New York Post editor Col Allan and Northern Territory Labor MP Warren Snowdon.
Discussions about Mr Rudd's actions have been current in diplomatic and political circles for some time. But last week a Canberra-based source approached The Sunday Telegraph and confirmed accounts of the evening.
Mr Allan (an employee of News Corporation, the parent company of the publisher of The Sunday Telegraph) then confirmed he and the Opposition Leader had been to a "gentlemen's club''.
"Yes, we went out for a drink,'' Mr Allan said.
"Yes, it was at a gentleman's club and he (Mr Rudd) behaved like a perfect gentleman.''
Confronted with the revelations yesterday, Mr Rudd said he recalled attending a dinner with Mr Allan and Mr Snowdon in New York in 2003.
"After dinner, Mr Allan suggested to Mr Snowdon and I that we all go on for a drink. Mr Snowdon and I agreed,'' the statement said.
"By that stage, I had had too much to drink. With the benefit of hindsight, I should not have gone on for a further drink.
"Not withstanding the fact that I had had too much to drink, I have no recollection (nor does Mr Snowdon) of any incident occurring at the nightclub - or of being asked to leave.
"It is our recollection that we left within about an hour.''
But, according to some sources, Mr Rudd was warned against touching the dancers by Scores management.
Reports of Mr Rudd's behaviour reached senior Australian diplomats serving in the US at the time. One of those diplomats, who insisted on anonymity, confirmed to The Sunday Telegraph a version of events involving "inappropriate behaviour''.
It is understood Mr Rudd and Mr Snowdon complied with the management directive to leave.
"I have never been informed of any report of these events to any Australian diplomat,'' Mr Rudd wrote.
"I would have thought given the time that has elapsed since then that I would have been informed or the matter made public as it would have been in the possession of the Government.
"At the time, I raised these matters with my wife Therese and the circumstances surrounding them. I indicated to Therese that it would have been far better for me to have simply returned to my hotel after dinner. I have never claimed to be perfect but I make no excuses. I take full responsibility for my actions.''
Mr Rudd said he has met with Mr Allan in New York on at least three occasions.
The trip, which cost taxpayers $18,000, was conducted under the auspices of the Parliamentary Entitlements Act.
Under this Act, the Prime Minister gives specific permission for the visit to proceed and the recipient is formally regarded as representing Australia whilst overseas.
At the time of publication, Mr Snowdon had not returned The Sunday Telegraph's calls
