Governor-General denies rape claim
Thursday, 8 May, 2003, 07:11 GMT 08:11 UK The Australian Governor-General, Peter Hollingworth, has denied an allegation of rape after it emerged that he was being sued for a sexual attack dating back to the 1960s.
Mr Hollingworth is already under pressure to resign from his post for mishandling a series of sex abuse cases while he was the Archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s.
Mr Hollingworth said he did not know the woman who alleged the attack, and that the allegations were a case of mistaken identity.
"I deny absolutely that I have ever raped or in any way sexually assaulted any person," the Queen's representative said in a statement.
The rape charge came to light after Mr Hollingworth bowed to pressure to lift a suppression order on the details of the case, which is still being heard in the courts, even though the woman involved recently committed suicide.
Win, lose or draw ... guilty or not, this has to be the nail in the GG's coffin.
I've come all ambivalent like about this. As a fully paid up republican it would serve to undermine this archaic institution to have him stay in the job. As someone who can appreciate the anger and distress of victims of the abuse that occurred during Hollingworth's flawed reign as Archbishop of Brisbane I would want him to go, and go swiftly. The second proposition is the more compelling.
Editor's note: George Galloway eat your heart out.
