LABOUR PARTY legal adviser Richard Humphreys is to be reprimanded by the party after he made a strong public attack on independent Senator Ivana Bacik’s views on the Data Retention Bill.
Mr Humphreys, who is running in the local elections for the party in Stillorgan in south Co Dublin, said Senator Bacik’s expressed opinions on the legislation were “ill-informed waffle”.
Last night, senior Labour Party figures were critical of Mr Humphreys’s decision to describe himself as the party’s legal adviser in campaign literature.
Asked to comment, a Labour spokesman said: “I am very surprised at this statement. Richard Humphreys is a local government candidate who is also legal adviser to the parliamentary party.
“They are two distinct and separate roles. In criticising Ivana Bacik, he was not speaking on behalf of the parliamentary party.
“He is not entitled to describe himself in local election statements as legal adviser to the parliamentary party and this will be made clear to him,” the spokesman said.
Senator Bacik, who is a Labour Party member, seemed bemused by the attack from Mr Humphreys, particularly on “such a slightly obscure topic” and one that would rarely trouble those voting in local elections.
Senator Bacik, who is Reid professor of criminal law at Trinity College Dublin, had questioned whether the Bill could provide meaningful protections against the misuse of data.
Mr Humphreys said last night his comments were consistent with Labour Party policy.
