Australia cop sees psychic in PM death threat: Media

Canberra, Apr 10: An Australian police officer has been suspended while authorities investigate a newspaper report that he asked a psychic for help with enquiries into a death threat made to Prime Minister John Howard.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said today it was investigating the matter, but declined to give details.

''The AFP investigates all allegations of the unlawful release of information seriously,'' the AFP said, adding that it does not condone the use of psychics in security matters.

The Sun-Herald newspaper reported on Sunday that the officer consulted a clairvoyant in the rural town of Cooma in New South Wales state for leads on an apparent threat to assassinate Howard.

''The government must now investigate how this B-grade movie script could have played out in real life,'' main opposition Labor's security spokesman, Arch Bevis, said in a statement.

The AFP said the suspended officer had not been part of Howard's personal police security team.

REUTERS