Tom Phillips: Parents apologise for 'trouble' caused by New Zealand fugitive

It is the first time they have spoken publicly since Phillips was shot dead by police during a manhunt.

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"We would like to send our sincere apology... for all the trouble, inconvenience, loss of privacy and property caused by Tom," Neville and Julia Phillips wrote in a letter published on Thursday.

"We are truly sorry for all that you had to endure."

Mr Phillips, who disappeared with his children in part due to a custody dispute, evaded capture for nearly four years, despite a nationwide search and multiple sightings.

"We in no way supported him or agreed with any of his actions in the past four years," Neville and Julia Phillips said in the letter published in King Country News, a small community newspaper.