Noonan and Mitchell to challenge Bruton

Fine Gael’s Jim Mitchell and Michael Noonan will throw down a challenge to the leadership of John Bruton at a Dublin news conference this afternoon.

It is regarded as the most critical challenge against Deputy Bruton since he took over the helm of the party. Deputies Mitchell and Noonan announced their press conference in a notification to newsrooms on Fine Gael headed paper this afternoon.

It’s being described as a joint news conference to address what they call 'the crisis in Fine Gael'. The two men have been in close contact since last week’s Irish Times opinion poll and had a secret meeting yesterday to draw up strategy. It’s expected their initial move will be a motion of no confidence in Deputy Bruton’s leadership.