Hudson's affidavit described an "extremely unusual response" to the final murder charge. Tait and Hudson told the court the terrorist always intended to plead guilty. "He was consistent that he was going to plead guilty but he was inconsistent as to when he would plead guilty," Hudson said. "To be clear Mr Tarrant never wanted to defend the terrorism charge. I would now say that was induced by the prison conditions, I was irrational," the terrorist told the court.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 10, 2026 13:26 UTC