A retired detective superintendent has denied that a State solicitor was asked to contact a minister for justice in an effort to put pressure on the DPP to charge Ian Bailey with the murder of Sophie Toscan Du Plantier.
Dermot Dwyer was giving evidence in Mr Bailey's High Court action against An Garda Siochana and the State for wrongful arrest.
Mr Dwyer said it had not happened.
He said Malachy Boohig may have attended a meeting in Bandon Garda station in March 1998 and he had outlined that they felt they had a very good case.
He said he asked him to talk to the DPP himself because he was worried that some of correspondence from the DPP's office was worrying.
He said he had never approached a politician in his entire career to do anything for him or for the force.
He did not know that Mr Boohig and the then justice minister John O'Donoghue had been in school together and would not have asked him to contact him.
He said no one else had asked him either.
He denied telling the witness Marie Farrell that if she refused to go to court to give evidence in the libel trial she would be brought there in handcuffs.
He also denied telling her to simply stick to her statements when giving evidence in the libel action.
Counsel for Mr Bailey said it was not the first time he had been accused of coaching a witness.
Tom Creed referred to another murder trial in which he was the principle investigator and during which he was accused of coaching a witness.
Mr Creed said the trial was subsequently stopped due to statements being withheld.
Mr Dwyer said he had spoken to the witness and told them who would be cross examining him.
He said after the trial the witnesses evidence was found to be true so that did not constitute coaching.
Mr Creed said he had done exactly the same thing in this case by telling Marie Farrell to stick to her statement and telling her he knew the defence counsel who would go easy on her.
"That is very unfair," Mr Dwyer replied.
Mr Dwyer said he first arranged to meet Mr Bailey because he was alarmed by some of the detail in a Sunday newspaper article on the 1996 murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier written by Mr Bailey.
He said the article contained a lot of detail about the victim's family and the French investigation and thought it was odd.
He denied telling Mr Bailey he would have him placed near the scene of the murder of Ms Toscan Du Plantier.
He said he had no recollection of saying to Mr Bailey after his arrest that the tragedy was he could not even remember doing it (the murder). However he said it was possible he had said it.
Asked about warrants for fines for motoring offences against Ms Farrell he said gardaí often used discretion when executing warrants and had to show common sense and humanity.
He said they may sometimes give people a little more time to pay but there was never any question of warrants not being executed.
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