A former British soldier denied before the High Court he told gardaí in 1997 he and another man were thinking of going down to journalist Ian Bailey’s house to ask him to “give himself up”.

Witness says officers demanded he hand over secret recordings

References were made to poitín, cash, clothes and the moon during recorded conversations played in the High Court yesterday to the jury hearing Ian Bailey’s action for damages against the State.

A man has told the High Court gardai gave him cash “a few quid — 20 bucks here, 40 bucks there”, clothes and significant quantities of cannabis to befriend Ian Bailey and “loosen” his tongue.