Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne said that he will be defending his integrity and credibility in court.

Fearne spoke to the media as he walked into the courtroom on Wednesday for the first sitting in the compilation of evidence against him and others. He is  criminally charged following the conclusion of the magisterial inquiry into the hospitals deal.

In his comments, he said that in 2016, shortly after becoming Minister for Health, he was the one who asked the National Audit Office to investigate the hospitals deal. The investigation, which took around seven years to complete, found no evidence of involvement from Fearne.

He said that just as the report stated he wasn’t an accomplice, so will the court.

Fearne also said that he will be defending himself in court and not in the streets.