Gareth Ward massage saga: MP says CCTV will support story but refuses to name website

EXCLUSIVE: Liberal MP Gareth Ward yesterday refused to name the website he used to order a massage that put him at the centre of a New York extortion scandal.

Mr Ward was staying at the InterContinental Hotel in New York Times Square when the incident occured.

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LIBERAL MP Gareth Ward yesterday refused to name the website he used to order a massage that put him at the centre of a New York extortion scandal.

While he remained silent on the key detail, Mr Ward vowed CCTV footage would bear out his side of the story.

The Kiama MP — who is under increasing pressure to explain the incident in which two men demanded $US1000 from him — said he did nothing wrong and video would show he was extorted after ordering a “massage”, not a “special massage”.

MP Gareth Ward checks his phone in Halifax, Canada.

The NSW MP alights from a bus in Halifax.

The story of Mr Ward’s brush with the scammers and his report to police emerged in New York media early Thursday morning.

One state government MP said yesterday Mr Ward should stand down as parliamentary secretary to the Education Minister after suggestions he ordered the massage while on a partially taxpayer-funded trip.

“Should he resign? Probably. Will he? Absolutely not,” the MP said.

Another MP said: “I think what he said raises more questions than it answers.”

He said he understood Mr Ward had decided to hunker down and ride out the scandal.

Mr Ward said yesterday he saw no reason to resign.

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said.

“I’m just trying to hold it together, to be honest. I haven’t done anything wrong. I was the victim of a crime. I know how it looks. It just wasn’t the case.

“These guys were frightening. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever been through. The police know I haven’t done anything wrong. The facts will bring that out with CCTV footage and times.”

A room at InterContinental New York Times Square.

Mr Ward has claimed he was confronted by two men at his hotel door who threatened to extort him and he took them downstairs on the pretence he would withdraw cash from an ATM. He then asked the concierge to call police, at which time the men fled.

Mr Ward’s future appears to rest on the fact that, while he was on a taxpayer-funded trip to a Canadian conference for MPs with disabilities, the New York leg of his trip was privately funded. There is also no evidence his account — which involves him ordering a standard massage and reporting the incident on discovering he was being offered extra services and threatened — is incorrect.

For now, the opposition is not asking for him to stand down. Labor leader Luke Foley said yesterday: “It’s up to the Premier to ask Mr Ward what exactly went on during his New York stay. Ultimately it will be her call if she is satisfied with his explanation.”

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian, a factional ally of the Kiama MP, backed Mr Ward yesterday, saying: “Gareth is one of the hardest-working members in my parliamentary team and I am proud to call him my colleague.”

A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed to The Saturday Telegraph key elements of the incident.

“The victim stated that he told the perpetrators he was not comfortable and one of the perpetrators did take out his cell phone and started recording,” the spokesman said.

“Perp told the victim he would put the video on the internet if he didn’t give him a thousand dollars.”