Radio presenter Ray Hadley claims that he spoke to one of the hostages being held by a gunman in Sydney.
The 2GB talkback host told listeners during his Monday show that that he had spoken over the phone to a male hostage at the Lindt Café in Martin Place. The gunman allegedly demanded that the call be put live to air but Hadley refused.
“I wouldn’t allow that to happen,” Hadley later said on air.
“I told the hostage it would not be in his best interest or my best interest to allow that to happen because I’m not a trained negotiator. I don’t have any expertise in this, there are people who will talk to both the hostages and the person holding the hostages and they will be knowing what to do.”
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According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Hadley claims he could hear the gunman talking about “other operatives being involved” and was instructed to call the hostage back.
“They talked about a password they would give me in 10 minutes. I have no idea what that means, what it’s about,” Hadley said.
“I could hear the person in the background giving instructions to the young man I was talking to.
“The young man, remarkably, was quite calm, quite calm, and he was quite happy for us to have his phone number and said ‘I want you to ring me back in 10 minutes for further instructions from the man holding us hostage.’ ”
Hadley also claims the gunman wanted to speak to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The 2GB host says he subsequently spoke to NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione about the phone call. NSW Police have not confirmed his claims.
An unknown number of people were taken hostage by a gunman inside the Lindt Café in the Sydney central business district at about 9:45am on Monday. Three hostages were apparently released at about 3:45pm. The situation is ongoing.
IMAGE: 2GB radio presenter, Ray Hadley (www.2GB.com)