Cowen insists challenge nothing to do with Anglo

BRIAN COWEN has insisted that the challenge to his leadership has nothing to do with the Anglo Irish Bank controversy.

The revelations last week about his previously undisclosed contacts with former Anglo boss Sean FitzPatrick prior to the bank being bailed out unnerved Mr Cowen’s coalition partners the Greens.

But Mr Cowen said the dissatisfaction in Fianna Fáil over his leadership arose solely from the party’s low standing in the opinion polls, the latest of which put it at 14%.