The Flood Tribunal has heard that Ray Burke has attempted to correct some of his evidence in a letter personally addressed to the Chairman of the Tribunal. The matter refers to a lodgement of £15,000 to a Jersey bank account. Mr Burke had earlier claimed he had withdrawn it from the same account and later re-lodged it. However, he has now retracted that evidence and has suggested another source for the money, involving a third party. Tribunal lawyers have described it as an extraordinary turn of events. The matter is being examined at present.
Mr Justice Flood said that the new information was contained in an unsolicited letter, hand delivered to him shortly after 5pm yesterday evening. He asked Mr Burke's counsel, Aidan Walsh, if he was aware of the contents of the letter. Mr Walsh said that his client became aware of the new information on further investigation and wanted to correct the record as soon as possible. However, Tribunal lawyers have challenged this. Pat Hanratty, SC, said that it was only as a result of the Tribunal's inquires that the matter came to light. He said that Mr Burke had given extensive testimony on the source of the lodgement and was now attempting to retract a whole portion of evidence.
The Tribunal will now want to re-examine his evidence on other amounts. Last week, Mr Burke told the Tribunal he had withdrawn £15,000 from a Jersey bank account through a London branch. He said that he returned home with the money but ten days later travelled to Jersey and gave the money to his solicitors there, to re-lodge it. Reference numbers on the law firm's banking records showed up the anomaly. The Tribunal will continue with Ray Burke's evidence while investigating the matter.
