Irish troops in Kosovo ‘may be illegal’

IRISH troops keeping the peace in Kosovo may be there illegally, the Labour party warned last night.

As Defence Minister Willie O’Dea arrived in the Balkans to visit the 1,000-strong contingent there, Labour’s spokesperson on defence Joe Costello said the deployment may be in breach of the Defence Acts because the mission was not established by a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Mr O’Dea attacked the suggestion, branding Mr Costello’s claims “reprehensible and irresponsible”.