Govt accused of abandoning Irish neutrality

Fianna Fáil MEP Niall Andrews has criticised his party for abandoning Irish neutrality.

Mr Andrews said Ireland was no longer a neutral country and he accused Fianna Fáil of engaging in a "sham" by pretending otherwise.

Speaking in Brussels, the MEP said the continued use of Shannon Airport by the US military proved that the policy of neutrality had been abandoned by the Government.

He also accused the United States of using alarming statements about al-Qaida to suit its own interests and said he never believed that there were any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.