‘Dangerous and dictatorial’

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell was under mounting pressure last night after he admitted leaking documentation from a garda file on Frank Connolly to a national newspaper.

The opposition claimed Mr McDowell had abused his office, acting in a “dangerous and dictatorial manner” by releasing information on Mr Connolly, a former journalist who allegedly travelled to Colombia on a false passport in April 2001.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said it was profoundly ironic that Mr McDowell had leaked garda documents given the stiff sanctions he introduced against members of the force who divulged certain information to the media.