A staff member at Serco-run Mt Eden prison was suspended not for fighting an inmate but for instructing him on sparring technique, the Corrections Minister says.
The incident was discovered as part of a review into the prison after allegations of organised fight clubs between inmates and drug smuggling.
After being questioned by Labour MP Kelvin Davis yesterday, Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said reports that the officer had fought an inmate were incorrect.
"I haven't seen the footage but I have been advised that it shows a prison guard, on CCTV footage, approaching a group of prisoners who were sparring," Mr Lotu-Iiga said, to laughter from the opposition benches.
The Prison Inspectorate and the Ombudsman is carrying out a review of the prison after the allegations.