Paul Williams denies acting as garda ‘puppet’ at tribunal

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

Crime journalist Paul Williams denied acting as a Garda ‘puppet’ at the Charleton Tribunal. He also denied orchestrating events connected to allegations made against Sergeant Maurice McCabe. The proceedings were reported on 18 July 2017.

Williams said he interviewed an unnamed woman in 2014 and that she wanted her allegations heard by politicians. Lawyers for McCabe suggested his reports were intended to pressure Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin into meeting her.

Williams rejected claims that he had access to a Garda investigation file, describing an allegation made by journalist Gemma O’Doherty as baseless. He said a Garda press officer confirmed that an investigation had taken place in 2006 and that the DPP had decided against prosecution. A letter from the DPP’s office said the allegations did not constitute sexual assault or any assault; Williams said he would not have written the article if he had seen the letter.

The tribunal was examining whether Sergeant McCabe had been targeted by a smear campaign. A Garda Commissioner representative said a later GSOC inquiry concluded that the 2006 investigation had been properly conducted.