Donegal publican Frank McBrearty jnr walked out of the sitting of the Morris tribunal in Donegal town yesterday, stating that he would not submit to cross-examination by legal teams representing gardaí whom he alleges abused him until his legal costs had been guaranteed by Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
"I am prepared to stay in jail for however long it takes for me and my family to get justice," he said.
Barristers for gardaí against whom Mr McBrearty made allegations during his direct evidence said that their clients denied all the allegations.
Former High Court president Mr Justice Frederick Morris said that the gardaí had a constitutional right to cross-examine Mr McBrearty, and he had a civic duty to submit to cross-examination.
Mr McBrearty said that he would not submit to cross-examination until the Minister for Justice took care of his legal costs.
The chairman said that Mr McBrearty was "someone who has suffered seriously as a result of the whole episode" and he did not wish to exacerbate Mr McBrearty's problems, but he had to make an order seeking the assistance of the High Court.
When the chairman warned Mr McBrearty of the financial costs of the High Court proceedings and the risk that his assets would be sequestered, Mr McBrearty replied: "I can afford it, chairman." Mr McBrearty also said that his assets were held outside the State.
"I will fight Michael McDowell to the highest forum in Europe if I have to do it," he vowed. He said that he was not scared of the State like other witnesses.
Earlier, Mr McBrearty said that a video of a February 1997 arrest had been "doctored" and did not show several incidents of abuse. During an extended lunch break he drove the 56-mile round trip to Raphoe to collect his own copy of the tape, which he said was of better quality.
On the tape, gardaí can be heard calling Mr McBrearty "a big fat piece of shite" and "a sad-looking article". He said the fact that he could be heard telling about how the scene of cattle-dealer Richie Barron's death was cleaned before it was forensically examined proved that he was questioned about the case during the detention on February 4th 1997, and not about the alleged assault for which he had been arrested. Mr McBrearty was acquitted of the alleged assault in 1999.