Breaking News English

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key could be [in / on] trouble after he pulled the ponytail of a waitress in a café. Mr Key apologised after waitress Amanda Bailey posted [inline / online] that the PM had pulled [her / the] hair many times when he visited the café. Ms Bailey said Mr Key started the hair-pulling last year [while / during] his election campaign. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and to not do it [again / repeat] , but he didn't listen to her. She could now [make / take] New Zealand's leader to court. He could [be / do] investigated for the crime [for / of] "hostile touching" if Ms Bailey goes to the police. A New Zealand [legal / legally] expert said: "You have to remember this is an older white male with a lot of power." He said Ms Bailey was in a [powered / powerless] position.

Mr Key has apologised [of / for] his actions and said he was [simple / just] "horsing around" (joking) [with / by] the waitress. However, many people in New Zealand think the [apologise / apology] is not enough. Women's rights campaigner Marilyn Waring told Radio New Zealand that she believed Mr Key had [broken / smashed] the law. She said: "I'm getting [tired / tried] of it being called anything but [illegal / legally] ." New Zealand's deputy leader Tracey Martin said it was unacceptable behaviour for a leader of [some / any] country. She added: "If he doesn't understand where people's personal boundaries [be / lie] , we've got some rather serious problems." The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, said: "It's never OK to touch someone without [their / our] permission."