Mr. Simon O'Brien:

We were obviously looking for the firm we knew. It was not a process I was involved in, but it seems quite proportionate and sensible to look elsewhere. While we would always look to support the State, we have very close contacts with our sister agencies in the Independent Police Complaints Commission, IPCC. We have regular meetings with those colleagues in regard to the training and retraining of our staff. The IPCC is an interesting group we could talk to in an independent and confidential way and the particular firm was recommended by a colleague who has had a long relationship with us over the years, through another professional investigator. Therefore, the decision was taken to engage the firm.