Quinn’s blame game

Former billionaire Seán Quinn states that he made a “very conscious decision” and did “the right thing” when he put his assets beyond the reach of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which was formerly Anglo-Irish Bank.

He denounced as a “total disgrace” and a “scandal” the order for his wife to repay €3m to the bank because “she just signed whatever she was asked to sign”.

Who asked her to sign? It seems that Mr Quinn wishes to blame everybody but himself. He is blaming the bank, the Government, the media, and, by implication, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, the judge who found him in contempt of court in a particularly scathing judgement.

Mr Quinn should not be surprised at the court finding, because he is openly proclaiming that his actions were deliberate.

He may well be right in his criticism of the former Anglo Irish Bank. The media has been particularly critical of that institution, and he could be confident that he would receive a fair hearing, if he put forward his side of the story.

But Mr Quinn is not enhancing his case by his own contemptuous attitude. Nobody had the right to act as judge and jury in his own case.