Colm Smyth SC admits error in tribunal letter

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Colm Smyth SC acknowledged an error in a letter prepared by the garda commissioner’s legal team, saying he regretted it and should have apologised sooner. He was cross-examined at the Disclosures Tribunal on 25 January 2018.

The letter gave an incorrect account of why Maurice McCabe made complaints involving Chief Superintendent Michael Clancy. Smyth said the legal team’s version was wrong, while notes and an audio transcript supported a different account.

The tribunal is examining whether unjustified grounds were used to discredit McCabe at the O’Higgins Commission. Smyth said he had not been instructed to challenge McCabe’s integrity and had not done so.