Cape Town - The office of the public prosecutor was extremely relieved when Vanessa Brereton announced she was apartheid spy RS452 and that it was not Bulelani Ngcuka.

Sipho Ngwema, Ngcuka's spokesperson, said Brereton's announcement confirmed what Ngcuka had been saying all along: he has never been an apartheid spy.?

Ngcuka, the national director of public prosecution, earlier this year announced that he wouldn't prosecute deputy president Jacob Zuma, despite prima facie evidence of corruption.

Later, former minister Mac Maharaj alleged that Ngcuka spied for the apartheid government.

It was alleged Ngcuka's code name was RS452.

After the Hefer commission was appointed to investigate allegations against Ngcuka, Brereton announced she had been RS452.

Ngwema said: "Maharaj must now speak the truth.

"Now that the pure nonsense in the allegations against Ngcuka has been exposed, we hope the public prosecutor can now give his full attention to do his work."

Maharaj was careful in his comments and merely said he found Brereton's announcement "interesting".

Asked if he was sticking to his original allegations regarding Ngcuka, Maharaj said: "I will give evidence before the commission on November 17. I cannot say anything else now."

Hefer Commission secretary John Bacon said Brereton, a former Eastern Cape human-rights lawyer, approached them last weekend through a mediator.

Bacon said the commission was waiting for a sworn statement from Brereton and afterwards a decision would be taken on whether it was necessary for Brereton to give evidence in person.

Bacon said Brereton's statement could help the commission with the question of whether Ngcuka was RS452, but it still had to be established if Ngcuka, using another name, had spied for the apartheid government and if this gave rise to him misusing his post.

Peter Ryan, Brereton's husband, told Natasha Pamplin in London that his wife was at home, but not available for comment.

Reports say Brereton had been an informer linked to Operation Crocus with the aim of infiltrating "white leftwing groups".

Her handler apparently had been former captain Karl Edwards, a former member of the security branch.

A former commander of the police's intelligence unit confirmed that Brereton had been a so-called RS police informer.

With acknowledgements to Willem Jordaan and Die Burger.