DETECTIVES WERE last night questioning a man on suspicion of making a false statement to gardaí in which he alleged the music and entertainment industry figure Louis Walsh had sexually assaulted him in a nightclub toilet.
Gardaí have told Walsh that the allegations against him have been withdrawn and that he is not under investigation.
The Westlife manager and X-Factorjudge welcomed yesterday's developments and said he would be taking a libel action against the Sunnewspaper, which first published the story.
“I have robustly maintained from the outset that this alleged incident did not occur,” he said in a statement.
The Irish Timesunderstands the complainant at the centre of the case has now told gardaí that Walsh did not grope him in the toilets of Krystle nightclub in Dublin, as he first claimed.
The man, who is in his 30s, originally alleged the incident had occurred in the toilets at the nightclub in the early hours after a Westlife concert on April 10th last.
He made a formal statement of complaint to gardaí at the time and an investigation was begun.
Last week news of the investigation broke in the media. Walsh then issued a number of strong denials that no incident of any kind had occurred.
The complainant was spoken to again by gardaí last week and was interviewed once more at his home in Navan, Co Meath, on Monday night.
It is understood it was during that exchange with gardaí that the man conceded the allegations he made against Walsh were untrue.
A Garda source told The Irish Timesthat while the complainant had withdrawn his allegation against Walsh, he had told gardaí that he was sexually assaulted on the night by another man.
The veracity of those claims is now being investigated.
After the man was arrested at his Navan home yesterday, he was taken to Pearse Street Garda station in Dublin. He was still being questioned last night under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and can be held for up to 24 hours without charge.
A suspect’s period under arrest can effectively be much longer than 24 hours because the detention is suspended overnight to allow for sleep and then restarted the following morning.
The case has generated a lot of media interest and a group of photographers and journalists could be seen throughout yesterday waiting outside Pearse Street Garda station for the suspect to be released.
Walsh said the case had been "hugely distressing" for him. He thanked his friends and colleagues for their support and said he was looking forward to getting back to work as a judge on X-Factor.
"While I obviously welcome today's confirmation from the Garda that the matter has been dropped, I remain outraged that this story ran in the first place in the Sun," his statement said.
“I have instructed my libel lawyer to vigorously pursue legal action against the paper and they will also be taking action in relation to a number of other equally serious related matters.
“I have no intention of letting this matter rest until I have received total and absolute vindication.”