Lowry may have chanced his arm, says ex-official

A FORMER senior civil servant suggested yesterday Michael Lowry might have been chancing his arm about the extent of his knowledge if, as claimed, he discussed one of the consortia bidding for the country’s second mobile telephone licence.

“You do find situations where ministers always like to give the impression that they know more than they actually do or that they are more involved in a process than they actually are,” the retired civil servant Sean Fitzgerald told the Moriarty Tribunal.

Mr Fitzgerald, who is a former assistant secretary at the Department of Communications, added that he had no doubt that the competition for the second mobile phone licence was carried out without any external influence or pressure.