Mr Ian Bailey, who is suing seven newspapers for libel for articles written about him following the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier in December 1996, admitted yesterday inflicting serious injuries on his partner during a row.
He was being cross-examined by Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for the newspapers, on the second day of the trial in Cork Circuit Court before Mr Justice Moran.
He was asked by Mr Gallagher if he had sworn to tell the whole truth and he said he had. Mr Gallagher reminded him what he had said earlier about the row, where he had admitted to his own counsel, Mr James Duggan, that he had pushed Ms Jules Thomas in the car on the way home from a party.
"Is that the whole truth?"
"Yes," replied Mr Bailey.
"There is another version," said Mr Gallagher. "Following the assault, her eye was swollen to the size of a grapefruit and she was missing clumps of hair from her head."
"She had loose hair. I pushed her and her hair fell out," said Mr Bailey. "Pushing Ms Thomas away with your open hand caused her hair to fall out?"
"In the heat of the moment I may have pulled her hair."
"Her lip was severed from her gum. Is that correct? She had bite marks to her hands and arms."
"She put her hands to my face. I was trying to drive. I might have bitten her hand." He denied he beat Ms Thomas again when they reached the house. He agreed that Ms Thomas had to be taken to hospital and that her daughter, Virginia, had to go to a neighbour to get help. He also agreed he remembered Ms Thomas screaming with pain in the bedroom.
"So do you think what you said earlier was the whole truth?" asked Mr Gallagher. "I knew I'd hurt her," replied Mr Bailey.
"So when you said you told the whole truth, it was missing some significant components?"
"I have difficulty remembering some details."
"How would you describe a person who did that to his partner?" asked Mr Gallagher.
"If it was out of the blue and totally unprovoked . . . " began Mr Bailey.
"How would you describe it?" pressed Mr Gallagher.
"Not very nice. All right, it's appalling."
"What kind of person would hit a defenceless woman?"
"It was in the heat of the moment."
"Does that mean you are a person who loses control?" asked Mr Gallagher. "Are there any other occasions in life when you lost control and hurt someone like this?"
Mr Bailey said he had hurt Ms Thomas another time two years ago. Mr Gallagher put it to him that Ms Thomas was lucky to be around today because it could have gone further.
"There was no premeditation in this. I didn't intend to hurt her. What can I say?" replied Mr Bailey.
He agreed Ms Thomas had obtained a barring order against him following the incident. "I think she was advised to," he said.
"Because she was afraid of a repetition?"
"I don't know."
"Do you think that a person who behaved with this level of violence even on one occasion should be described as a violent man?" asked Mr Gallagher.
"The only occasions when there was violence between us occurred with drink," replied Mr Bailey.
"I would say I am not a violent person. If she hadn't started going at my face in the car. My intention was to get us home safely."
Mr Gallagher asked him if his response to Ms Thomas's actions was proportionate.
"The violence began from her. Because I had drink I responded."
"Forget about drink," said Mr Gallagher. "Lots of people drink without doing this."
Earlier Mr Bailey told him he had objected to the inclusion of his statements to gardaí in the case, not because he disputed their contents but because he had given them to the gardaí and did not think they would come into the public domain.