MERCURY
A CLEANER in the Department of Treasury and Finance accused of stealing sensitive drafts has denied the allegations.
Police yesterday charged Nigel Jones, 46, of Geilston Bay, with stealing the documents that revealed the Government was planning massive cuts to major departments, including Police, Justice and Economic Development.
But Mr Jones has insisted he did not steal the drafts.
Mr Jones, a former Glenorchy alderman, says that about 10pm last Friday he was approached by an unknown Treasury official, who asked him to deliver a folio of documents to the Mercury and the Tasmanian Liberals.
While denying the allegations, Mr Jones said the Government needed to look further within Treasury because the person who gave him the documents was still in the department.
“I am not the culprit. I may have passed the documents on but I don’t understand anything that they contain,” he said. The State Government has been hunting for the source of the damaging leaks since they first came to light on Tuesday.
Mr Jones said three detectives forced their way into his home late yesterday.
“There was a guy in a black suit who looked like a Mormon, so I didn’t answer the door,” Mr Jones said.
“The next minute the door was kicked down and they forced their way in.
“They scruffed me and threw me on a chair and waved the documents in my face. My nine-year-old boy was in the house. He was terrified.”
Mr Jones, who runs his own cleaning business, said he had been working in Treasury for two years but had lost his job.
