Christopher Pyne ‘very sorry’ for ‘damaging’ same-sex marriage remarks`

Federal Minister Christopher Pyne says he is very sorry for his damaging remarks to factional allies.

The Minister for Defence Industry and Leader of the House made his full-throated apology to local branch members in Adelaide, after playing down the significance of his comments earlier this week.

On Friday, he told colleagues in the Liberal Party’s moderate faction they were in the “winner’s circle” and same-sex marriage could happen “sooner than everyone thinks”.

The comments were secretly recorded and released to the media, enraging senior conservative colleagues who privately demanded Mr Turnbull dump Mr Pyne as Leader of the House.

At a local branch meeting on Wednesday night in his electorate of Sturt, Mr Pyne said: “I’m very sorry that my comments at an event last Friday have caused such a distraction for the Government. I apologise to anyone they have offended.

Source: Christopher Pyne ‘very sorry’ for ‘damaging’ same-sex marriage remarks – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)