Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean says she did not intend for historical comments made by Simon Bridges to be "thrust into the spotlight" and "took no pleasure in being caught up in a political power-play."
Jacqui Dean says the latest firestorm within the National Party has distracted attention from the most important issues facing the country. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
Judith Collins last week demoted Bridges, citing an old complaint about lewd comments made in front of Dean.
The comments, about the best way to conceive a daughter, were made at a caucus function at Premier House in Wellington in early 2016.
Dean was offended by the comments and complained to Sir Bill English, who was deputy prime minister at the time.
Sir Bill spoke to Bridges at the time and he apologised to Dean.
The comments resurfaced in a press release from Collins announcing Bridges' demotion on Wednesday night, to the surprise of the National Party caucus.
Judith Collins and Simon Bridges Photo: RNZ
The move prompted the caucus to call a vote of no confidence in Collins, which she lost.
Following the no confidence vote, interim leader Shane Reti said the caucus was concerned with the content of the press release and the process by which it was issued.
In a statement on Facebook today, Dean described the last week as "long and brutal".
"It was certainly not my intention for past issues to be thrust into the spotlight as they were and I took no pleasure in being caught up in what was a political power-play that took attention away from the important issues of the day."
Dean said she entered politics to advocate for her electorate and will focus on doing that.
In a statement last Thursday, Dean said the comments made by Bridges in 2016 upset her at the time.
The matter had continued to play on her mind and the recent reviews into the workplace culture at Parliament brought the feelings back up, Dean said.
Bridges had repeated his apology on Thursday, she said.