Colm Smyth tells tribunal error was not counsel’s mistake

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

Colm Smyth told the Charleton Tribunal that an incorrect allegation about Sgt Maurice McCabe was not a mistake by counsel. The tribunal was examining whether unjustified grounds were used to discredit Sgt McCabe.

The submission suggested Sgt McCabe had complained about Supt Michael Clancy in an effort to force him to release a document from the Director of Public Prosecutions. A transcript of a recorded 2008 meeting later showed he had referred to making a submission to Supt Clancy, not a complaint against him.

On 26 January 2018, Mr Smyth denied that his clients had shown hostility towards Sgt McCabe during the commission hearings. The evidence continued, and the tribunal had not disclosed how the error arose.