Mansergh cover up

Fianna Fail TD Martin Mansergh has contradicted the evidence given today at the Mahon Tribunal by Air Corps Brigadier General Ralph James. The evidence concerns an official visit by the then Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, to the Bahamas in 1994

Mansergh, who was on the trip as a special advisor to Reynolds said the three day visit was a formal trip and not an unscheduled diversion. On The Last Word (Today FM) Mansergh is reported as saying the general’s evidence was based on faulty recollection.

But in his usual sly and underhand way Mansergh is not telling the whole truth.

Brigadier General James did not claim that the trip to the Bahamas was unscheduled. He did, however, claim that there was an unscheduled flight from Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, to the island of Freeport North of the capital.

This unscheduled flight was specifically requested by Reynolds who spent six hours on the island. There is no record of what he was up to for those six hours.

It is clear that Mansergh has no scruples about calling into question the reliability of James’ evidence in an apparent attempt to cover up for Reynolds.

The relevant transcript from the Tribunal is worth reading. Questions 90 – 127 and specifically questions 96 – 98.