The RUC Chief Constable has insisted he did not telephone the office of a UN special rapporteur investigating threats to lawyers in Northern Ireland requesting that remarks attributed to him in a draft UN report be removed.
Sir Ronnie Flanagan denies he told the UN rapporteur, Mr Param Cumaraswamy, during a meeting in 1997 that some lawyers in Northern Ireland were "working for the paramilitaries". A BBC Panorama programme screened earlier this week alleged Sir Ronnie made the remarks and made a subsequent call to Mr Cumar aswamy's office asking for the comments to be withdrawn.
"I have now had all billing records checked. I made no such phone call. There may have been a phone call made by a representative of the UK government. I am going to try to establish that with Mr Cumaraswamy's office," said Sir Ronnie yesterday. During the BBC interview, he said he had "no recollection" of making the phone call on February 27th, 1998.
But he acknowledged yesterday that he had written to Mr Cumaraswamy in March and April of that year. "I wrote to him twice asking that he should delete the references to me, ascribing comments to me that I did not make," said Sir Ronnie. He added that he did not make the controversial comments, "because I don't believe them".
The BBC journalist with the Panorama programme, Mr John Ware, said he had been assured by sources that Sir Ronnie made the phone call. He added: "In his interview, the Chief Constable said his route of communication with the UN was through the Northern Ireland Office. That is not consistent with the letters that he sent in March and April on headed RUC notepaper."
However, Mr Cumaraswamy's aide, who took a phone call, told The Irish Times he "could not swear" he had spoken to Sir Ronnie. "But I can say for sure that Ronnie Flanagan tried to have his views expressed."
The UN employee, who did not wish to be named, said it was "irrelevant" whether Sir Ronnie had telephoned the office directly or whether he had his views expressed via the UK permanent mission in Geneva.
The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, have requested tapes of the Panorama programme from the BBC.