Witness: I got cash to befriend Bailey

A man has told the High Court gardai gave him cash “a few quid — 20 bucks here, 40 bucks there”, clothes and significant quantities of cannabis to befriend Ian Bailey and “loosen” his tongue.

Martin Graham said he was asked “to befriend Mr Bailey as best I can” and he thought that was ridiculous because he did not know Mr Bailey. He said gardai offered to buy him clothes and “sweeteners” and suggested “the family would be very grateful for a favourable statement, if I could find anything that suggested Mr Bailey was linked with it”.

“I was constantly being pressed by the police to suggest there was a link between Ian Bailey and Sophie Toscan du Plantier but I didn’t know of any, just what they told me. I just thought it was crazy.”