'Headlock' senator Lydon snubbed by party
Friday June 22 2007
A CONTROVERSIAL Fianna Fail senator, best known for putting Trevor Sargent in a headlock, was not selected for his party's Seanad line-up yesterday.
But Senator Don Lydon is still a candidate for the Seanad elections after getting a nomination from three other TDs and Senators.
The senator famously grabbed the Green Party leader in a headlock when Mr Sargent waved a cheque, sent to him by a builder, during a speech in the council chamber of Dublin Corporation in the 1990s.
Senator Lydon is embroiled in accusations at the Planning Tribunal and denies claims from lobbyist Frank Dunlop that he accepted a bribe to sign a rezoning motion.
The senator also gave inaccurate information to an internal Fianna Fail inquiry about money he received from a property developer.
What he told the internal inquiry about payments directly contradicts his testimony to the Mahon Tribunal.
Fianna Fail has yet to take any action against the senator for this failure to fully co-operate with its own internal inquiry.
- Fionnan Sheahan
