Arms Trial accused calls for inquiry

One of the four men accused of illegally importing weapons in the Arms Trial of 1970 has called for an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the trial. Captain James Kelly, the former Army Officer, made his call in the wake of revelations today that the then Minister for Justice, Des O'Malley, made an order suppressing the statement of a key witness. Earlier this week, Mr O'Malley said that he had no recollection of the statement by a senior army officer. Last Tuesday RTÉ's Prime Time programme showed that this statement had been substantially altered before the trial.

Captain Kelly, along with Charles Haughey, John Kelly and Albert Luykx were acquitted of illegally trying to import weapons into the country in the Arms Trial of 1970. He has maintained his innocence all along, claiming that he was acting on the instructions of the then Minister for Defence, Jim Gibbons. The link between the two men was the then Head of Army Intelligence, Colonel Hefferon.

In a statement to Gardaí, Colonel Hefferon claimed that Mr Gibbons knew what was going on. However, RTÉ's Prime Time programme revealed that these references were eliminated from his final statement. Although the original statement noted that it had been seen by the then Minister for Justice, Des O'Malley, he had maintained that he did not alter the statement and had no recollection of it.

An article in today's Irish Times revealed that Mr O'Malley examined the file containing the statement and signed a Ministerial order effectively suppressing its contents. Captain Kelly said that he was very pleased with the revelations and called for a High Court judge to be appointed to examine all the events surrounding the arms trial.

This evening Desmond O'Malley responded to the latest revelations saying if some form of inquiry is held into the events leading to the Arms Trial and into the trial itself, he would be happy to co-operate with an in-depth inquiry. He also said that in 1970 there was a most dangerous and volatile situation and the basic institutions of state were under threat if certain people got their way. He also asserted that there was a conspiracy to import arms illegally regardless of what the court found in the Arms Trial.