I WON'T NAME COCAINE MINISTER, SAYS AUTHOR

Nuns, Lawyers and Businessmen With Drug Habits 'Will Remain
Anonymous'

The author of a controversial book in which an Irish government
minister allegedly admits to being a regular cocaine user vowed this
weekend she would rather be arrested than reveal his identity. For
almost a month Justine Delaney Wilson has been at the centre of a
political storm because of what the minister is supposed to have
revealed to her in Buswell's Hotel just across the road from Dail
Eireann. The furore has gripped the Irish Republic, with an entire
nation playing guessing games over the minister's identity.

Last night Delaney Wilson said she was prepared to face Garda
questioning back in Ireland rather than betray the minister's identity
and those of other interviewees who confessed to being habitual
cocaine users.

Her credibility as a writer has been called into question; politicians
have demanded she be questioned by the Garda Siochana, and
organisations representing a range of professions from the law to
airline pilots have cast doubt over the veracity of her book.

In The High Society, Delaney Wilson alleges that pilots, lawyers, nuns
and wealthy entrepreneurs gave her details about their cocaine habits.
The main focus of controversy has been over her alleged interview with
an Irish minister who confesses to snorting cocaine.

Speaking exclusively to The Observer from New Zealand, where she is
visiting her partner's parents, Delaney Wilson said her lawyer was in
possession of a letter in which she informs him she is about to
destroy a digital recording of the conversation. Confusion has reigned
over whether or not she recorded the conversation in Buswells.

'I decided on advice from my lawyer that I should destroy the digital
recording of our conversation. Before I did so I wrote a letter to him
informing I was doing so. He advised me to post it both to myself and
to his office, which I did. A copy of this letter was sent through the
Irish mail and arrived at his office. It has a franked postmark to
prove the date.'

Delaney Wilson said she preferred having her reputation attacked
rather than revealing the identity of any of her interviewees: 'I gave
a solemn undertaking to the interviewee that this recording would be
shown to no third party whatsoever. This is not to cast aspersions on
any third party - merely to say that it was an undertaking I gave and
I took it seriously.

'Following a period of intense pressure, intimidation and threat which
gave me very real cause for concern for the safety of my family, I
sought independent legal advice on what best to do with the physical
recording. In consultation with my solicitor, it was decided that it
was untenable and unsafe for me to retain it. It's all very well for
people to say that they wouldn't destroy tapes, but until you've had
people in your garden and lurking around your children, it's difficult
to understand.

'If my choices are between taking a dent in my credibility and
absolutely protecting my sources, or risking a tape falling into the
wrong hands or ending up on the internet, I will take the hit every
time. Where would my credibility be if this recording ended up on the
radio or YouTube?

'People will make up their own minds about whether or not to believe
me, but I will not be revealing anyone's identity in order to convince
them. I will not expose or betray the people who spoke to me, damage
their reputations, and upset their families to defend myself from
unfair attack.

'The fact that some sectors of the media have appeared to push the
view that this book was fabricated is very disappointing. And is
simply not the case. The main story here, which is that drug abuse is
pervasive in our society at every level, is being lost. The people who
spoke to me know who they are. They know I will continue to protect
their identities."

Meanwhile, Irish Justice Minister Brian Lenihan said this weekend he
did not intend to make any formal complaint to the Garda about her
claims. However, he doubted that they were authentic. 'It would be a
hazardous investigation when there is no basis for the allegation
other than a handwritten note. There is an issue of credibility,'
Lenihan said.

A two-part RTE documentary based on the book was broadcast recently.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has confirmed it has received
no formal complaints about the programme.