Lawlor family outraged as crash woman identified as an interpreter

THE family of Liam Lawlor yesterday hit out at media coverage of the former politician’s death, saying they were saddened by unsubstantiated claims he had picked up a prostitute before his fatal car crash.

In a strongly worded statement, they described the extensive coverage in some Sunday newspapers as “a barrage of inaccurate, reckless and vindictive” reporting.

And very reliable diplomatic sources in Moscow yesterday emphatically discredited the allegations - carried by at least three newspapers yesterday - that the young woman was a prostitute or that the area in which the fatal crash occurred was a red light district of the Russian capital.

The sources told the Irish Examiner that the woman was a Ukrainian national, aged 25 or 26, who worked for a legal firm in Prague and had flown into Moscow with Mr Lawlor shortly before the crash. Mr Lawlor had extensive business interests in the Czech capital.

The woman, who is understood to speak perfect English, is said to have been working in the role of legal assistant and interpreter for Mr Lawlor.

The sources said that luggage belonging to the young woman was recovered from the boot of the car along with a suitcase belonging to Mr Lawlor. She was also carrying her passport.

Mr Lawlor, 60, died instantly after the Mercedes in which he was a front seat passenger swerved and crashed into a pole on the main road from the airport in to the centre of Moscow. The driver of the car, a Russian journalist and part-time chauffeur, was also killed instantly.

The young woman, who was sitting in the back seat, received relatively minor injuries and was discharged from hospital on Saturday.

Police in Moscow are also now saying the woman was working as an interpreter, according to the sources.

In its statement, Mr Lawlor’s family said: “At this time of mourning it is deeply shocking and distressing that such hurtful allegations should be made in this way without checking their veracity.”

They also asked that the media reflect on their coverage and allow them space to cope with their loss.

Arrangements were being made last night to bring the body home ahead of the funeral, which is expected to take place on Thursday. The eldest of Mr Lawlor’s four children, Niall, arrived in Moscow last night to accompany his father’s body home. He was met by officials from the Irish Embassy in the capital. Earlier yesterday, Niall had flown into Ireland from New York, where he now lives.

Ireland’s Ambassador to Russia, Justin Harman, has also taken an active personal involvement in the aftermath of the tragedy, visiting the scene of the crash and the hospital where Mr Lawlor, the driver and the injured woman were taken. He has also met with police. Mr Lawlor’s family, wife Hazel, three sons and one daughter, said they were overwhelmed by the “kind expressions of sympathy extended to them from home and abroad” following his death.

The car crashed early on Saturday on the main road from Sheremetyevo Airport in Khimki, a suburb to the north of Moscow. The former Fianna Fáil TD had just arrived in Moscow from Prague, where he has extensive interests.