-
John Key and John Banks have a cup of tea in Epsom. - Source: Getty -
Related
It started with a casual conversation over a cup of tea, albeit with the nation's media watching on, and now a week later the teapot tape saga has dominated the build up to the General Election and created headlines around the world.
The meeting between National leader John Key and Act party candidate John Banks was meant to be a show of support for the Epsom man, and hopefully give him a leg up in the polls.
However a recording of the conversation was given to The Herald on Sunday, and from there the saga that has been variously called 'cuppagate', the 'tea cup talks' and 'the tea party tapes' has snowballed.
With media organisations including TVNZ threatened with search warrants and the cameraman at the centre of allegations taking High Court action, international news sites have now caught onto the story.
"John Key 'illegal tapes' row erupts in New Zealand" was one of the most read articles on the BBC News website today, while The Guardian reports that the "New Zealand prime minister seeks to block recording".
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian are among the papers across the Tasman following developments.
The Associated Press wire has sent the story around the world and it has also featured in Bloomberg's Businessweek.
Even the Taiwan News was getting in on the action although it seemed to initially get the wrong end of the stick with its headline " New Zealand leader John Key wiretapped in privacy phone call ".