NZ First was quick to deny allegations made by Tauranga Independent MP Brendan Horan that the party misused taxpayer funds, saying the accusations are baseless and without foundation.

Horan, who was ejected from the party in 2012, yesterday used parliamentary privilege to allege NZ First used $20,000 of the party's leader's budget to fund the Vanguard computer system used for campaigning and fundraising.

Horan speaks during the Budget debate at Parliament yesterday.

'Vanguard software is a relationship management system which stores personal details of voters and is used for mass-mailouts. Other political parties have these programmes too, but they are funded by the parties themselves and operated outside of Parliament.”

Horan said NZ First 'paid tens of thousands of dollars out of its leader's budget to develop this software and has their parliamentary staff working to run the programme for election year”.

He claimed this is a breach of the parliamentary service guidelines, intended to make sure money is not used for the party's political purposes.

'I call upon the leader of that party to open its leader's budget accounts to the scrutiny of the Speaker first and then the public of New Zealand.”

In Parliament NZ First MPs Barbara Stewart and Richard Prosser were quick to object to the allegations raising points of order with the Speaker as Horan attempted to table what he says is evidence.

The two MPs were left to defend Horan's accusations without the support of the NZ First leader Winston Peters, who was noticeably absent.

The day before things between the two rivals had reached boiling point, when Peters referred to the independent as the 'Jimmy Savile of NZ”. He was referring to the British entertainer accused of child sex offences.

Peters was ordered to apologise for the comments after Police Minister Anne Tolley objected, saying it was 'really offensive”.

In responding to Horan's claims, NZ First sent a press release saying: 'New Zealand First says the accusations made in Parliament by independent member Brendan Horan are baseless and without foundation”.

Horan later sent documents to media, which included an email sent to Horan claiming a number of parliamentary staff including 'director of operations Api Dawson and the NZ First leader's Out of Parliament Support and NZ First membership secretary Esme Connell” are engaged to run the computer programme. The email did not include the sender and recipient details.

'Peters and his staff are well aware that they are blurring the lines between party political and Parliamentary business,” the email stated.

'For this reason, members of the Board have been largely kept in the dark.”

NZ Herald reports Peters said the software is used for expansion into sector groups, commercial and social interests 'where we're able to spell out what our policies are and interact with them”.

Peters said all claims made by Horan are a 'lie”.