Garda chief criticised by civil liberties group

A CIVIL liberties group has attacked the head of a Garda representative body over his defence of members who failed to co-operate with an inquiry into the May Day Reclaim the Streets protest.

As some former gardaí defended the policy of not “snitching” on colleagues, the Irish Council of Civil Liberties claimed there was a culture of denial among some elements of the force that is undermining public trust in the organisation. ICCL research officer Liam Herrick, said he was bewildered by comments by the GRA chief, PJ Stone, who criticised the timing of the Garda Complaints Board report into the handling of the May Day protest.

Mr Stone said board chairman Gordon Holmes “clearly displayed a perception of bias” in his comments following the publication of the report.