GARDA KEITH HARRISON has said that he will continue his legal action against the State despite the Charleton Tribunal finding that his allegations against gardaí were “entirely without any validity”.
Harrison had claimed that harassment of him and his family had been directed by senior garda management, and fought for his case’s inclusion in the terms of reference of the Charleton Tribunal.
He and his partner Marisa Simms claimed that gardaí coerced a statement from her detailing instances of aggression from Harrison to her, and that gardaí subsequently put pressure on Tusla to have a social worker visit their family home.
However, yesterday Judge Charleton published the Disclosures Tribunal second interim report, which concluded that “all of the allegations of Garda Keith Harrison and Marisa Simms examined by the tribunal are entirely without any validity. They have claimed to have been the victims of a malicious procession of events. That is not so.”
This afternoon, Harrison released a statement saying he will continue to pursue gardaí, the Justice Minister and the Attorney General in the courts.
It read: “Garda Harrison is disappointed with the conclusions of the tribunal, these conclusions were anticipated from the outset given the views adopted in the opening statement and come as no surprise to him.
In light of his dealings with and attendance at the tribunal, where one of the issues of concern was the refusal to pursue parties who withheld documents, he did not anticipate the tribunal would support his views regarding the actions of An Garda Síochána.
“Garda Harrison’s proceedings against the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Attorney General will continue. He is confident that upon his calling of all relevant witnesses and receiving full discovery of all relevant documentation, the High Court will reach different conclusions in respect of many matters contained in the report of the tribunal. In view of the fact that those proceedings are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”
The public inquiry, which was set up earlier this year, has also heard evidence about the alleged smear campaign against Maurice McCabe, but the report released yesterday only addresses Harrison’s case.
The 97-page report, published shortly before 7pm, concludes that Harrison and Simms “claimed to have been the victims of others”.
With reporting by Daragh Brophy
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