Mike Hosking Breakfast

National Party leader Christopher Luxon is standing by MP Sam Uffindell after he assaulted a schoolboy as a teenager, but says he should have been told of the incident earlier. "He has my backing and he has my support but clearly he needs to build back trust with the voters of Tauranga," Luxon said. Aged 16 as a Year 11 student at King's College, Uffindell and three others jumped on the then 13-year-old boy and began beating him with what was believed to be unscrewed wooden bed legs. Luxon confirmed Uffindell had declared the incident to the National Party when he sought to be a candidate. "He is not the same person that he was 22 years ago as a 16-year-old." Luxon said he should have been informed earlier. The delegates should have been informed and the voters of Tauranga should have been informed earlier. He said Uffindell's admission during selection had triggered deeper background checks and he believed that was how it was supposed to work. "There was a deep explorati