A former manager at the troubled Mount Eden Prison is denying a claim that he was fired for refusing to take a drugs test.
The logo of the prison operator Serco. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
Darren Farrow was a senior manager with Serco when it ran the prison. He is also a bodybuilder.
Earlier this week, the New Zealand Herald said he had been suspended, then dismissed, for refusing a drugs test.
In a statement provided by his lawyer, Mr Farrow said he took one test, which came back negative, but was then asked for a second and third test, to check for body-building drugs.
He said the disagreement with Serco was about boundaries between work and private life, and he and the prison firm agreed to go their separate ways.