Belgian justice minister apologises for birthday party ‘pipigate’ scandal

Guests at Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne’s 50th birthday party had a bit too much to drink and peed on a police van parked outside his home.

By Thursday, the political hangover had lasted more than three weeks, and he was still mopping up the steady drip of revelations.

Van Quickenborne’s latest humiliation was being forced to appear before parliament to explain what he knew about what the press has gleefully dubbed “pipigate”, or “pee-gate” in English.

At Thursday’s hearing he apologised to the country’s entire police force, some of whom are investigating the drunken late-night incident.

He insisted he was helping police investigate the disrespectful assault on their vehicle by telling three friends suspected of being the culprits to hand themselves in.

“I would like to apologise to all police officers in the country,” he told MPs.

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“I completely understand that this outraged them. This is absolutely unacceptable.

“I’m ashamed of these people and what they have done … I understand that this isn’t a pretty spectacle, and I’m not proud to have had to defend myself,” he said, insisting that he wanted to stay in his post.

Van Quickenborne, who lives under police protection after a major drugs gang threatened his family, must now hope he has stemmed the flow of revelations.

But so far the scandal has only gained in strength, fed by a trickle of leaks from his police protectors and by the minister’s own home video-surveillance footage.

The basic facts of the incident are: Van Quickenborne turned 50 on August 1 and on the night of August 14 held a big shindig at his home in the town of Kortrijk for dozens of guests.

Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo, Van Quickenborne’s boss, was also at the party, but he insisted on Thursday that he had seen nothing untoward. He has not requested his minister’s resignation.

The minister’s police protection detail had parked their van outside his property.

According to police surveillance footage passed to the Flemish press in late August, three guests left the party late in the evening and, visibly inebriated, relieved themselves against the vehicle.

What happened next has not proved so easy to confirm. Tabloid reports suggested that some footage showed Van Quickenborne later coming outside himself, laughing and miming the relevant motions.

Outraged police unions demanded the minister’s resignation, but the minister furiously rejected this account.

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This week he released his own domestic security camera footage to support his case.

On this recording he is seen escorting another friend out of his home at 4am – hours after the incident – and swaying backwards in a gesture some interpreted as him mimicking outdoor urination.

Van Quickenborne told MPs he had no memory of the gesture, but suggested it could have been musically inspired.

“I play acoustic guitar. Perhaps it was a guitar-strumming movement?” he mused.

In the video, the minister is seen bringing his phone out but only, in his account, to take a selfie with his friend, not to record the soiled state of the police vehicle.

As for the final guest, visibly amused by the predawn driveway scene, he “had nothing to do with the incidents” and remains one of his best friends.

Additional reporting by Reuters