Mr Des O’Malley has been told to accept some responsibility for changes that were made to the statement of Col Michael Hefferon in the 1970 Arms Trial.
Captain James Kelly, who was one of a number of people arrested and charged with conspiring to illegally import arms, said Mr O’Malley was talking "absolute rubbish" when he denied altering, or approving anyone else, to alter the statement.
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In the first of a four-part series broadcast on RTÉ last night, Mr O’Malley said that parts of the Hefferon statement which had been cut would have been "bits that were inadmissible in evidence" because they related to expressions of opinion and conversations.
The original statement by Col Hefferon had been changed after it had been seen by Mr O’Malley, the then minister for justice and by the Department secretary, the late Mr Peter Barry.
Parts of the statement which indicated the then minister for defence, Mr Jim Gibbons, was aware of an attempt to import arms were cut out.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme today, Capt Kelly said the statement of his superior officer showed that he was not guilty of any crime, and that it was "a complete perversion of justice that it was changed, forged or doctored".
Capt Kelly said the statement was "in O’Malley’s office and between there and the court it was doctored." He said that Mr O’Malley must claim some responsibility for what happened.
Capt Kelly, along with Mr Charles Haughey, Mr John Kelly and Mr Albert Luykx, was acquitted of illegally trying to import weapons. He has always maintained his innocence, claiming he was acting on the instructions of Mr Gibbons.
While he ruled out the need for a public inquiry into the matter, he said there should be an inquiry into Mr O’Malley’s conduct during the situation.
Referring to the information which had been cut out of Col Hefferon’s statement, Capt Kelly dismissed Mr O’Malley’s suggestion that the information was not relevant, saying "any fool in the street knows it was relevant."