RTÉ forced to apologise over item on Cowen portraits

RTÉ was forced to apologise to Brian Cowen last night over a news broadcast concerning nude portraits of the Taoiseach mysteriously hung in two Dublin galleries.

It marks a further deterioration in the relationship between the Government and the national broadcaster, which has been severely strained in recent months.

The report formed part of RTÉ One’s Nine O’Clock News on Monday night, and told how an unknown prankster had hung one of the portraits in the National Gallery and the other in the RHA Gallery, without the knowledge of staff.