THE Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Morris Tribunal to proceed with a private inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the arrest and detention of seven people at Burnfoot, Co Donegal, in May 1998.

A sergeant was shocked and astonished when another officer dipped a spoon into powder fro a suspect device to test it for explosive materials, the Morris Tribunal heard today.

A garda superintendent drafted in to investigate false expenses claims in the Donegal division today denied vital evidence was covered up in a conspiracy to frame a junior officer.