Embattled senator ‘certainly not’ giving up his seat

EMBATTLED David Norris last night insisted he would not resign his Seanad seat despite quitting the presidential race under a cloud.

However, the Trinity scholar strongly hinted he would not stand again for election after the uproar caused by the revelation he wrote to Israeli authorities pleading clemency for his ex-partner Ezra Nawi, who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy.

Though insisting that Nawi had never been in a “committed” relationship with him, Mr Norris said: “In one sense, he is the love of my life. You don’t stop loving someone whatever their faults and flaws are.”