In the Seanad tonight Senator Jim Gibbons, son of the former Minister for Defence, defended his father against recent allegations surrounding the Arms Trial in 1970. Senator Gibbons said that his father's name and reputation had been severely maligned in recent television programmes. He said he would welcome a full investigation into all relevant documents relating to the Arms Trial, and felt any such inquiry would vindicate his total belief that his father did not perjure himself in 1970.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael has called for a group of experts to investigate the Arms Trial. Its leader in the Seanad, Maurice Manning, said that an expert group, comprising a judge or a retired judge as well as an historian and a former civil servant should collect the evidence. The Minister for Justice urged Fine Gael senators not to go ahead with their motion in advance of hearing the result of inquiries that he had initiated. A Government amendment welcoming the Minister's inquiries was passed.
