Ahern: Manchester trip was 'personal' not official

Bertie Ahern has said that the 1994 trip to Manchester in which he recieved £8,000 was a personal trip and did not come under the code of conduct for payments to ministers.

Bertie Ahern has said that the 1994 trip to Manchester in which he received £8,000 was a personal trip and did not come under the code of conduct for payments to ministers.

He said that there were no formal guidelines at the time on gifts to ministers by virtue of their office, but said that personal gifts were excluded from the code.