Former MP Taito Phillip Field admitted today he could have been more open to an inquiry ordered by then Prime Minister Helen Clark into his conduct.
Field faces 35 charges at the High Court at Auckland, several of which relate to providing false statements to the inquiry by Noel Ingram.
He also faces charges of bribery and corruption as an MP, which allege he accepted work on his homes by Thai tradesmen in return for providing immigration help.
Under cross-examination from prosecutor David Johnstone, Field said he thought the Ingram inquiry was solely into conflict of interest and his ministerial responsibility, not potential criminal conduct.
Field told prosecutor David Johnstone he thought Dr Ingram's line of questioning was outside his terms of reference and he provided minimal answers, but that he never lied or deliberately misled him in an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
Mr Johnstone took Field through several answers he gave to Dr Ingram, and put it to Field that he had lied in an attempt to avoid the inquiry widening into a full-scale investigation into conduct.
"I am not admitting to lying. I don't believe I have deliberately lied to or misled Dr Ingram," Field said.
"I have answered some questions in a way where I should have been more open and precise... it was a mistake not to be more open and to be minimal."
Field said he took this approach partly because of the media pressure he was facing at the time of the inquiry, in late 2005 and early 2006.
"I was fighting for political life, my ministerial position, and my family was being attacked in a way that was quite vicious, which was affecting me, my children and grandchildren.
"That's the environment and context I was put under in this inquiry."
Field said it was wrong to tell Dr Ingram that Thai painter Phongphat Chaikhunpol was "a total stranger" when he worked on a house of Field's once in Wellington as he had met him several times before, though he denied it was a lie.
During questioning, Field said he never made any connection between his immigration help to the Thai tradesmen and their work on his homes, and that he always expected the tradesmen to bill him for their work.
Field also said he never asked a close Thai friend, Jinda Thaivichit, during a break in his interview with Dr Ingram to create false documents to suggest payments had been made to the Thai tradesmen.
He said he instead rang her to find out what payments had been made to her and other tradesmen.
Earlier, Field said he had no recollection of Mr Chaikhunpol offering to help him out after he intervened to get the man a work permit.
Mr Johnstone asked about a letter the associate immigration minister had written to Field's office on October 23, advising it wasn't his normal practice to intervene in immigration cases but he had decided to intervene in Mr Chaikhunpol's case.
"I don't recall any reference to this," Field said.
Mr Johnstone asked about Mr Chaikhunpol's painting work on Field's Auckland rental property, saying Mr Chaikhunpol had said that as Field had helped him with his work permit, he would help Field with his repair work.
Field said he did not recall Mr Chaikhunpol saying that.
"Mr Johnstone, you have made a lot of links to a scenario which doesn't exist. Hundreds of people come to my office, and I cannot recall who Phongphat Chaikhunpol was. You can't put things in my mind which didn't exist."
Elected as a Labour MP in 1993, Field was expelled from the Labour Party in 2007. He continued to represent Mangere as an independent MP before being defeated at last year's election.
The trial is into its 15th week. The jury is expected to retire next week.
