Under oath, Roland and Russell both testified that adjustments were made to work schedules to allow Inch and his girlfriend - who is now his wife - to continue their relationship without any conflict.

"Adjustments were made to work schedules to permit (the relationship) to continue," Roland said during testimony on Oct. 7.

Inch stated in his letter that "at no time during the period from the spring of 2004 when the relationship began and August of 2006 when I left the clerk's office did I ever, nor was I asked to, step out of a committee meeting due to a conflict, or perceived conflict of interest because of my personal relationship with Mr. Handley's executive assistant.

He also said at no time was his work "adjusted" or "shuffled" to "avoid any potential conflict" nor was his wife's work arrangements.

"Nothing was required to change," Inch wrote. "We ... resent the implication that our relationship was at any time illicit or in any way comparable to the situation Mr. Roland and Ms. Russell find themselves in."

On Friday, former premier Joe Handley said Richinger's role as his assistant was at no point changed or adjusted to suit the relationship with Inch.

"I never shuffled anything," he stated. "If I had some evidence that she was somehow shifting documents or information, I would have, but I never had any evidence.

"It really wasn't an issue from my perspective as premier."

During Russell's Oct. 7 testimony, she said the relationship between Inch and Richinger was described to her by clerk Tim Mercer and Deputy Clerk Doug Schauerte.

"When (the relationship) became known to the clerk and the deputy clerk, changes were made to the committee clerk's area of responsibility," Russell said at the hearing. "When the premier was to appear before that clerk's committees, then that clerk worked elsewhere. What elsewhere meant, I don't know. Exceptions were made to recognize a personal relationship."

When asked about changes to Inch's work while he was still clerk of committees, Mercer declined to comment on any personnel issues within the legislative assembly. The premier declined to comment on the situation when News/North requested an interview with him on the subject.

"This is something that was addressed at the inquiry - and until we receive Mr. Hughes' report, we will let the record of the inquiry speak for itself," Drew Williams, press secretary to the premier, said in an e-mail response to News/North.

The letter sent by Inch contains excerpts of an e-mail communication to Glenn Tait, counsel for Hughes, requesting this information be brought to Hughes' attention.

"It is imperative that Mr. Hughes be made aware, if he has not been so informed already, of the inaccuracy of some of the testimony he has received," Inch wrote to Tait.

On Friday, Tait confirmed he received an e-mail from Inch, but because the inquiry was over, no new evidence could be put forward.

"I got an e-mail from David Inch saying such and such wasn't true and I wrote him back and said 'well thank you for that, but the hearing's over I'm not sure what I can do about that,'" Tait said Friday, adding the only way they could include the information was to reconvene the inquiry.

When asked how Hughes could make a well-informed decision based on what could potentially be inaccurate information from Roland and Russell, Tait refused to comment any further.

Visit www.nnsl.com to see David Inch's letter to News/North in full.