Courts / Ireland / Report

Crime reporter Paul Williams denies acting as "puppet" of gardai

Summary

Crime journalist Paul Williams testified at the Charleton Tribunal, denying allegations that he orchestrated events or acted as a 'puppet' for An Garda Síochána regarding Sergeant Maurice McCabe. Williams stated he did not know the substance of Ms D's 2006 allegations until meeting her in 2014 and denied accessing confidential Garda files, calling such claims by journalist Gemma O'Doherty 'completely baseless.' He confirmed speaking with Garda press officer Supt David Taylor, who verified a 2006 investigation and the DPP's decision not to prosecute. Williams maintained he did not contact Sgt McCabe for comment as the report was anonymised. In separate evidence, Det Supt John O'Reilly denied suggesting Ms D contact Williams, though he admitted passing the journalist's number to her father, Mr D. O'Reilly also denied telling Mr D that Sgt McCabe watched young girls at a school, a claim Mr D previously made. The Tribunal is investigating whether Sgt McCabe was targeted by a smear campaign. The hearing remains ongoing.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Crime reporter Paul Williams denies acting as "puppet" of gardai. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• January 2005 Other
• 2017-07-18 Publication

Why: "I asked the question, was there an investigation, what did the DPP decide, who was involved, because it was pertaining to an allegation of malpractice by the original complainant," he said. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report