Victorian Labor MP Will Fowles is taking a leave of absence to deal with health issues after allegedly smashing a hotel door in Canberra. Witnesses claim Mr Fowles destroyed a door in the hotel's lobby after a clash with staff over access to his luggage. ACT Police confirmed the incident but said no charges have been laid. Mr Fowles released a statement saying, "I unreservedly apologise to the staff at the Abode Hotel, my constituents, my Parliamentary colleagues, and my family for my appalling behaviour in Canberra". "What happened is unacceptable. I am deeply ashamed of my actions," he said. "While there are reasons for it, there are no excuses. I have, for a long time, been dealing with addiction and other mental health issues." Image: News Corp Australia

Victorian Labor MP Will Fowles has apologised for his “appalling” conduct at a Canberra hotel this morning, and revealed his long-running struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.

Mr Fowles, who represents Burwood in Victoria’s state parliament, destroyed a door at Abode Apartments in the suburb of Kingston in an attempt to access his luggage, claiming the hotel was unlawfully holding his bags.

“I unreservedly apologise to the staff at the Abode Hotel, my constituents, my parliamentary colleagues and my family for my appalling behaviour in Canberra earlier today,” he said in a statement this afternoon.

“What happened is unacceptable. I am deeply ashamed of my actions. While there are reasons for it, there are no excuses.

“I have, for a long time, been dealing with addiction and other mental health issues. “Medication I take was in my luggage, which was locked in a room that I was not able to access, as no staff were on-site. I will, of course, pay for all damages.”

Mr Fowles said he had recently undertaken a course of drug and alcohol counselling, and would now “get the treatment I need to become a better person”.

“I have let myself down and badly let down those who have supported me. I know how hard I have to work to rebuild the trust people have placed in me.

“I will take a leave of absence to properly deal with my health issues.”

He said his trip to Canberra, where he attended the maiden speeches of several Victorian colleagues, was privately funded.

Earlier today, former journalist Kellie Sloane spoke about the explosive incident in detail, relaying the account of a security guard Mr Fowles confronted.

Ms Sloane was also staying at the hotel - she and some other guests were briefly stranded outside in subzero temperatures.

“The issue was that he’d come down to check out of the hotel and there was no one at reception,” she told the Sky News program The Kenny Report.

Reception was not due to open until 8am, and Mr Fowles had a flight booked for 9am. His luggage was locked behind a door.

“He got quite distressed about that. The security guard said he flew into a rage. You can see the evidence - he kicked down the door to the luggage area,” Ms Sloane said.

“He caused a lot of destruction there.”

So here’s the latest. A politician (I don’t know who) has gone into a rage after discovering he couldn’t access his luggage. Police say he’s now calmed down but is facing charges. pic.twitter.com/VRKu5p2s2t — Kellie Sloane (@kelliesloane) July 24, 2019

Mr Fowles, still in an agitated state, then headed back upstairs to his room, though Ms Sloane and the security guard did not know exactly where he’d gone at the time.

“We were concerned about the other people in the building,” she said.

“We thought it was someone who’d just gone nuts, and we didn’t know where he’d gone. As it turns out, he was in his room.

“He was claiming that the hotel had unlawfully held his bags. At that point he was still upset, and it took him about 20 minutes to calm down. And then the hotel manager showed up.”

Ms Sloane said she couldn’t speculate about why Mr Fowles’ behaviour was so volatile, as until today she knew nothing about him.

She did not recognise the state politician as he left the building a short time after the incident “looking embarrassed”.

As he passed members of the media, he said: “How the f*** did they get here so fast?”

Police stopped Ms Sloane from taking pictures of Mr Fowles, but media photographers captured him getting into a police car. He was then taken in for questioning.

She said the first officers on the scene had earlier described him as “a piece of work”.

“It’s extraordinary behaviour for anybody, but for a member of parliament, he has a lot of questions to answer about how he manages situations,” Ms Sloane said.

“There’s this huge gaping hole in the door.”

Mr Fowles flew to Melbourne today, and spoke briefly to reporters at the airport.

“This morning I made a very bad mistake. I apologise unreservedly,” he said.

“This has been a very distressing morning.”

Reporters continued to ask him questions as he walked out of the terminal to his car, but he would say nothing more.