Batt bails out after insisting he would run

BATT O’KEEFFE resigned as Enterprise Minister and announced he would not contest the election less than 24 hours after insisting the exact opposite.

Rumours had swirled around Leinster House on Wednesday that Mr O’Keeffe would not run again, with one reliable Fianna Fáil source saying he had decided to retire from politics at the election.

But when contacted about the issue that afternoon, Mr O’Keeffe insisted via his spokesman that this was not true, and that he intended to run again.