Two Spanish prostitutes were robbed and beaten in their Limerick brothel after taking a booking from a man posing as a punter, a court heard.

Ladies of the night, keystone cops and political Pinocchios all featured in the swirl of intrigue as Willie O’Dea battled for his Cabinet life.

A former garda presenter on RTE’s Crimeline programme has abandoned his bid to overturn a conviction of having solicited sex with a 12-year-old girl in a Limerick brothel.