Decision not to prosecute Connolly ‘was made in 2003’

THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided more than two years ago that no prosecution would be brought against Frank Connolly over allegations he travelled to Colombia on a false passport, the Centre for Public Inquiry (CPI) claimed last night.

The claim raises fresh questions over the controversial role of Justice Minister Michael McDowell since it flatly contradicts reports that he told the CPI’s backers in a meeting on September 2 that a prosecution against Mr Connolly was still a possibility.

In that meeting with Atlantic Philanthropies chairman Chuck Feeney and senior vice president Colin McCrea in Dublin, Mr McDowell and his department’s secretary general Sean Aylward are reported to have asked for details of false passport allegations against Mr Connolly to be kept confidential since they were not sure if gardaí would try to press charges.