Alan Shatter’s inclusion in inquiry was ‘Kafkaesque’

Lawyers for Alan Shatter warned Taoiseach Enda Kenny the former justice minister’s inclusion in an inquiry was "Kafkaesque", and that he had seven days to change its terms or face High Court action.

The pressure applied by Mr Shatter in his attempt to have his identity removed from the terms of an inquiry into Garda malpractice are laid bare in a series of letters to Mr Kenny and others.

Mr Shatter is taking legal action to overturn the Guerin report, which led to his resignation last year and the inquiry being set up.

The sequence of letters and legal threats began last September and culminated in a Dáil debate into the inquiry being blocked last week.

Lawyers warned Mr Kenny’s office if reference to the Guerin findings about Mr Shatter appeared in the inquiry’s terms, they would “interfere with the proper administration of justice”.

It would be a breach of European law if Mr Shatter was later forced to become involved in the inquiry, they said.

“We unhesitatingly suggest such a scenario is Kafkaesque,” one letter said.

In November, lawyers demanded “confirmation” within seven days that the terms would be changed or they said they would go to the High Court.

Mr Kenny’s officials replied the Guerin report was a “scoping” exercise.

Any follow-on inquiry was “wholly independent” but would not be changed.