Apology after security breach at US embassy

THE Department of Justice has apologised to the American Ambassador to Ireland over an incident in which a garda on security duty at the embassy allegedly abandoned his post and got into a drunken row with a colleague before leaving again and being caught drink driving.

Two gardaí attached to a south Dublin station have been suspended following the incident which is being investigated as a serious security breach at what is regarded as the city’s most high-risk target for foreign terrorist attack.

In a gesture to stave off political embarrassment, the secretary general of the Department of Justice telephoned Ambassador James C Kenny on Thursday and apologised for what happened.