Taoiseach U-turns on women’s rights issue

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has performed an apparent U-turn on whether he raised the matter of women’s rights on a trade mission to Saudi Arabia in 2014.

Mr Kenny, in Montreal on Thursday, appeared to strongly suggest he raised the specific issue with Saudi authorities during a press conference with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

He was speaking in the context of the controversial vote to put Saudi Arabia on a United Nations body for women’s rights.