Roche letter missing from garda probe file

A LETTER written by a Government minister, corroborating allegations that a teenager was beaten up while in garda custody, was not included in the investigation file sent to the Garda Complaints Board, it has emerged.

Garda Complaints Board (GCB) chairman Gordon Holmes yesterday described the omission of Deputy Dick Roche's letter as "serious" if it was accidental and "sinister" if it was deliberate.

Mr Roche, Minister of State for European Affairs, wrote a letter to then Justice Minister John O'Donoghue saying he had "first-hand information" supporting allegations that 18-year-old Michael Gaffney had been beaten in garda custody.