WELLINGTON, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday accepted Labour President Nigel Haworth's resignation over his handling of sexual assault allegations.
"In the last 48 hours, I have read incredibly distressing reports of an alleged sexual assault involving members of the Labour Party," Ardern said in a statement.
"It confirmed that the allegations made were extremely serious, that the process caused complainants additional distress, and that ultimately, in my view, the party was never equipped to appropriately deal with the issue," she said.
"I discussed the correspondence with the Labour Party president this morning. Whilst he stands by the statements he has made on this matter, I believe mistakes were made," Ardern said.
Haworth released a statement saying the resignation was effective immediately.
"I've come to the conclusion that regardless of the outcome of the appeal process into complaints about a Party member, fresh leadership will be required to take forward any recommendations from that process," he said.
"I have greatly enjoyed my time as president and will continue in my lifelong support of Labour and its principle," Haworth said.
Earlier this year, Labour began investigating after seven people made complaints against a staffer.
