These are serious allegations.

A number of independent journalists have been approached by a source for help in making public an incident they witnessed in a Canberra restaurant recently. This source is believed to be credible, however, the incident is yet to be confirmed. The incident is being made public in an attempt to encourage more witnesses to come forward.

The incident is alleged to have involved offensive behaviour from a prominent member of the Liberal National Party.

This member recently dined with associates in a restaurant where it was customary for diners to remove their shoes.

Apparently a lot of wine had been consumed and this person urinated in a friend’s shoe; an action he thought was quite hilarious.

It is also alleged that a witness was informed that to make this public would result in their ‘ruination’. It was said that this alleged threat was made from a member of the mainstream media.

We cannot and will not reveal the name of the politician until the incident can be fully confirmed.

What is equally disturbing about this alleged incident, are the threats made against the witness. This witness is extremely afraid yet needs to be assured that threats of this nature are illegal and support is available. All witnesses need to be assured this.

Only by making this alleged incident public and encouraging witnesses to come forward, will we know the extent of its validity.

We do, however, believe this story to be true, hence our decision to publish it. It will be spread widely across independent and social media.

It is in the public interest that these allegations either be verified if true, or dismissed if they are indeed untrue, because of the prominence of the person who is the subject of these allegations, and the high office he is likely to hold.

UPDATE: The use of the term ‘LNP’ was an error on my behalf, as has been pointed out. I should have said ‘federal coalition’.

It has also been pointed out to me by the source that the threat wasn’t actually made personally by a member of the media, but rather, that the member of the media had said that the coalition would ruin her and she was advised to remain silent.

Finally, if anyone is prepared to publicly announce who the politician was then I suggest that they have a sworn statement to back up their claim. If not, comments that name a person without supporting evidence then those comments will be deleted. It is not our intention to encourage speculation.