Members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, to which Fianna Fail is affiliated, were said to be incensed when the Fianna Fáil MEPs failed to back the group in a vote this afternoon.
They abstained from the motion on freedom of information in Italy. It was defeated by just three votes.
The leader of the Fianna Fáil delegation in the European Parliament Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher has said that his MEPs abstained because the party would not interfere in the internal affairs of other member states.
He added that it was possibly his fault that he did not flag it in advance.
When asked pressure from the Irish Government that forced the MEPs to abstain, he said ultimately it was their own decision.
