Conor McGregor replied 'no comment' to more than 100 garda questions

CONOR MCGREGOR SAID he replied “no comment” to more than 100 questions during garda interviews about allegations he raped a woman in a Dublin hotel because he was “beyond petrified”.

McGregor, who is facing an accusation in the civil action that he “brutally raped and battered” Nikita Hand (Ní Laimhín), was cross-examined in the High Court today. 

He has previously told the court he had consensual sex with the plaintiff in a penthouse in the Beacon Hotel.

Nikita Hand is also suing another man, James Lawrence, for sexual assault on 9 December 2018.

The court was told that McGregor read out a pre-prepared statement to gardaí when he was questioned about the alleged rape on 17 January 2019.

Following the statement, McGregor was asked more than 100 follow-up questions to which he replied “no comment”.

McGregor repeatedly stated he was acting on advice from his solicitor, adding he told his lawyers his story and gave his series of the events.

Asked why he replied “no comment” to every question, McGregor said it was the first time he was interviewed by gardaí and “was beyond petrified”.

“I would have loved to go the top of a mountain with a microphone and shout from the hilltops about the series of allegations,” McGregor added.

He told the court that he felt he was co-operative with gardaí during the interviews, adding he was “nervous” and it was “alien” to him.

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“It is the first time it has happened to me in my life,” he continued.

He said he was in court to speak his case.

“These allegations are false and I have come out here, and say my piece and say my truth.”

McGregor also admitted to the court that he took cocaine while he was in the car with Lawrence, Hand and her work colleague as they travelled to the Beacon Hotel.

He rejected an assertion that had taken the bag of cocaine when he left Lawrence’s house and returned to the two women, who were waiting in his car.

He said it was a “small piece” of cocaine.

It also emerged that McGregor has paid for Lawrence’s solicitor’s fees.

When first asked by John Gordon SC, for Hand, if he paid for his friend’s legal fees, McGregor replied: “I don’t recall.”

McGregor went on to say that Lawrence was his friend and would not have been able to pay the fees.

Asked again did he pay Lawrence’s legal fees, McGregor replied, “possibly” and later, “I am not a million per cent”.

McGregor said he gets “staggering legal fees” among the “lies” put forward.

Asked again, he replied: “I believe I did.”

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He denied that his co-defendant was to be a “Patsy” who was to “take the fall” in the case.

McGregor said he believed Hand also had sex with Lawrence because he told him he was also “with her”.

Gordon asked McGregor if Lawrence was to be a “Patsy”, someone who would “take the fall”, which was the reason McGregor included in his statement the question of “someone else”.

“Take the fall? Whose mind could that be in? No. Who could ever believe that. What do you mean? How silly,” said McGregor. “I didn’t cause those bruises. Your client had sex with multiple people during the course of that three-day bender,” said the defendant, who added that himself and his co-defendant were “two people, at least”, that he knew the plaintiff had sex with “multiple times”.

Gordon put it to the witness that at the time of the first statement “you and James Lawrence had not yet decided how to play this”.

“There was no way to play this. I speak my truth on what is a grave situation,” said McGregor.

McGregor said he believed he paid for Lawrence’s legal bill because he would not be able to fund lawyers himself. 

McGregor and Lawrence are both represented by the same legal firm.

“There was no colluding. This is as serious a situation one could be presented with,” said McGregor.

With reporting by Paul Neilan, IINA