Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Latin Times
Latin Times
World
Elizabeth Urban

Politician Shows Up to Work in His Underwear, Denies Being Drunk

Australian politician Gareth Ward said he had gotten locked out of his home without his cell phone after reports of him showing up to parliament in his underwear circulated online. (Credit: @garethjward/X)

An Australian politician has denied rumors that he was drunk when he showed up to his office in his underwear.

Kiama MP Gareth Ward reportedly showed up to state parliament around 4 a.m. July 21 wearing "a T-shirt, underwear and socks," according to a parliamentary security report obtained by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.

Ward said he walked from his home to parliament after he locked himself out of his apartment without his phone.

"Having been awoken and responding to a noise at the rear of my apartment, I locked myself out of my property in the early hours of 21 July," Ward said in a statement. "Given it was freezing at around 4am in July, with no prospect of getting a locksmith, not having my phone and with my property around eight minutes' walk/jog to parliament, I went to parliament to get my spare key."

The politician denied any rumors that he was drunk, calling them "defamatory," as reported by The Guardian. Ward said in the Thursday statement, "This is this sort of gutter journalism that sees faith in some journalists fall to an all-time low. I will be making no further comment."

The former minister moved to the crossbench after he was charged with sexual assault offences dating back several years. Ward had denied the charges, and is due in court next year, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

After being suspended from parliament, he was re-elected as an independent in 2023, and returned to parliament in his South Coast seat.

© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.