Key queries SIS role as CV investigated

Prime Minister John Key is questioning the effectiveness of SIS vetting, after another scandal involving an official gaining security clearance then facing claims of lying about his past.

Mr Key consulted State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie yesterday on whether to order an investigation into Security Intelligence Service procedures after Defence Force chief scientist Stephen Wilce received top secret-level clearance.

Mr Key said he would decide during the weekend, but doubts about Mr Wilce should have been picked up first by the recruitment agency that recommended him and the Defence Force.

"The SIS do play a role, though, in providing information. If somebody has been hired and their CV isn't actually as they made it out to be ... one would hope it was picked up earlier on. If it wasn't, we need to understand which part of the system failed and how we can stop that being repeated."

British-born Mr Wilce resigned as director of the Defence Force's Defence Technology Agency on Thursday after claims were aired on TV3's 60 Minutes.

The programme featured interviews with former bosses and colleagues, who said his extravagant claims included being a decorated war hero and creating the guidance system for the United States' Polaris submarine missiles, designed in the 1950s. He claimed he had been in Britain's MI5 and MI6 and that he was a member of the British bobsledding team in the 1980s.

The case comes after former Immigration boss Mary Anne Thompson was given top-level security clearance despite falsely claiming on her CV that she had a PhD from the London School of Economics.

It has raised questions about SIS checks, which are supposed to include interviews with at least two referees who have "good knowledge" of the candidate's private life. The SIS would not say yesterday what checks were done.

It is not known what Mr Wilce claimed on his CV when he applied for the agency job or what qualifications he holds that met the job description.

However, a Defence Force profile soon after he got the job in 2005 describes him as having an extensive background in defence sciences and supercomputing, telescope systems, weapons research and aerospace systems.

Mr Wilce did not return calls yesterday.

Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae denied suggestions the force had not acted quickly enough to investigate concerns about Mr Wilce after they were raised in July, and would not comment on what he had claimed in his CV.

"Let's get the facts of the matter into the situation before you make accusations that he presented the wrong CV. There is a process and that process will discover the facts."

He said a report ordered by Defence Minister Wayne Mapp on the force's role in Mr Wilce's employment would be completed in two weeks.

Mr Wilce was recruited for the agency by consultancy Momentum. Directors include former prime minister Jenny Shipley.

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