The MP had not been seen in Wellington since his decision to resign at the end of this parliamentary term, following allegations he secretly recorded a staff member at his Gore electorate office hit the headlines again last month.
Mr Barclay returned to Parliament yesterday, and this morning again declined to answer questions from media before attending an education select committee.
Those questions included whether he would be interviewed by police, who have re-opened their investigation into a complaint from his former staff member Glenys Dickson.
Mr Barclay has avoided answering any questions from the media since it was revealed he told Prime Minister Bill English that he had recordings of staff criticising him.
Yesterday was no different, however he did smile and offered a happy "good morning" to a camera crew waiting for him at the building's front entrance.
It was not clear if Mr Barclay's return to Wellington this week means he will stay the final four weeks of the term before Parliament rises ahead of the general election in September.
His workload since his decision to retire has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
After appearing to take some time off after the allegations resurfaced, and police relaunched their investigation, Mr Barclay posed for a picture on his Facebook page with a caption indicating he was "working on constituent issues".
Prime Minister Bill English faced another barrage of questions from opposition MPs yesterday.
At question time, NZ First leader Winston Peters led the charge.
"Why was he [Mr English] in such frequent communication with Glenys Dixon over a long period of time, late at night and early in the morning?'' Mr Peters asked.
Mr English said he had no comment to make on that, which prompted Mr Peters to ask him if he would release his phone records.
Mr English said he had no ministerial responsibility for the Barclay issue, which meant he did not have to answer questions about it.
Labour's Chris Hipkins asked Mr English whether he had told the police everything he knew about the Barclay matter.
Mr English, who made a statement to police during their initial inquiry, said he had already commented extensively on that.
"Does he agree that it is slippery deceit and a disgrace for a prime minister not to tell the police everything they know about a matter under investigation?'' Mr Hipkins asked.
He did not get an answer to that either.
- NZ Herald, NZN
