Australian politician 'was reprimanded in strip club'

The Australian Opposition leader, Kevin Rudd, who was tipped by opinion polls to replace John Howard as prime minister before the end of this year, admitted yesterday that he had visited a strip club while in New York on official United Nations business.

The Sunday Telegraph, a Sydney newspaper, quoted unnamed Australian diplomats as saying that Mr Rudd, 49, was reprimanded by the management of Scores club for "inappropriately" touching strippers during a visit there in 2003..

The Labour leader said yesterday he had drunk so much he could not recall the events of the evening.

The revelations tarnish the image of Mr Rudd, a committed Christian, ostentatious family man and bookish former diplomat. He has been actively campaigning to draw the Christian vote away from Mr Howard, whose conservative government has ruled Australia for 11 years.

Mr Rudd said yesterday he expected his personal ratings to fall as a result. "I think I'll take a belting in the opinion polls," he told Nine Network television.

Mr Rudd was in New York - at the expense of Australian taxpayers - as a bipartisan UN observer. He visited Scores, described as a "gentlemen's club" with Col Allan, editor of the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post, and another Labour politician, Warren Snowdon. The three had been out for dinner and drinks, and went on to Scores at Mr Allan's suggestion.

Mr Allan said yesterday that Mr Rudd had "behaved like a perfect gentleman" in the club, which features lap-dancing topless women and offers private performances.

Responding to claims that he was warned for touching strippers, Mr Rudd said: "I have absolutely no recollection of that. We'd had too much to drink, I accept that, but I think the big error was made just in going in there in the first place." He denied his behaviour was at odds with his public image, saying: "I'm on the record as saying I'm as flawed and failed as the rest of them."

Mr Snowdon said: "We stayed for a reasonably short length of time, nothing untoward happened, and we left."

Since Mr Rudd took over as Labour leader last December, polls have suggested consistently that he will beat Mr Howard at an election due to be held in October or November. He has a high media profile, and has wrong-footed the government on policy issues such as climate change.