Professor Nick Hardwick:

The Minister herself has been clear that there was a fact-checking process that went on, and the suggestion that did not happen was incorrect. I do not think the fact that our report came as a bombshell, if it did, to people at Oberstown is a reflection on us in respect of the process of producing a report. It is a reflection of what was happening at Oberstown. While the chair and director told us they knew about this and that, that is a different thing.

When these things had been set out in some forensic detail, with the supporting evidence, there would have been bits that would have made for some pretty hard reading. I am sure about that and I am sympathetic to that. One can sit on top of it and generally say one knows one has some problems but then something spells it out that perhaps one thought one had fixed something but it had not been fixed. No doubt that made for some hard reading but that was not a reflection on our lack of consultation.