A police commissioner has admitted to forgetting to start an investigation into allegations that private investigators were spying on Canterbury earthquake claimants.

Early last year, private investigators from security firm Thompson & Clark were found snooping in and recording meetings of Southern Response clients. After an investigation by the State Services Commission (SSC), Commissioner Peter Hughes filed a police complaint in December.

However, Police Deputy Commissioner National Operations Mike Clement admitted to Stuff.co.nz that the inquiry hadn’t progressed – because he forgot to start the investigation.

“It is completely my fault. I can’t undo history,” Clement told Stuff. “The inquiry is going in the right direction now.

“It won’t make a difference but that’s not making excuses. At the end of the day we have lost probably at least a month’s worth of investigation time. We could have been a month further ahead. The reality is the period it is alleged to have happened was historic so we haven’t lost anymore if we had commenced an investigation after Christmas, which is what we would have done.”

For its part, the SSC is satisfied that a police investigation into the matter is now underway.

“The Commissioner has received a letter of apology from Police Deputy Commissioner Mike Clement and is pleased the matter will now be investigated,” a spokesperson for the SSC told Stuff.

“As far as he is concerned that is the end of the matter.”