LIAM KELLY, the Fianna Fail councillor photographed last week apparently snorting cocaine, has refused a request by his party to resign.

Kelly, 35, who represents Finglas in Dublin city council, now faces having the Fianna Fail whip removed when the party’s council group meets next month. It is understood that party officals have asked city councillors to take this step if Kelly doesn’t quit in the meantime, or if a garda investigation doesn’t sustain Kelly’s claims that he was set up.

The issue is hugely embarrassing for Fianna Fail because Kelly, a rising star in the party, is popular among colleagues who are likely to be reluctant to obey orders to discipline him.

The matter is complicated by the garda investigation that was launched after Kelly made a complaint at Whitehall station claiming the photos were “staged” and he was the victim of an extortion attempt. The councillor made the complaint last Saturday after being confronted by a tabloid newspaper with the photographs.

The pictures show Kelly leaning over the side of a couch with a rolled paper at his nostril and white powder that resembles cocaine on a table in front of him.

Kelly has admitted he is the person in the photograph, but claims he is the victim of a scam. He says the photo was “staged” by people who sought to blackmail him by asking for “a substantial sum of money”, and insists he is not a drug user and “blood and urine tests could prove this”.

He has yet to explain, however, how he ended up being photographed in such a way or what the white powder was, using the garda investigation as a reason for not answering any further questions.

Yesterday, Fianna Fail sources confirmed Kelly had been advised to resign. Bertie Ahern, the taoiseach, would have been aware of the move and it would have had his approval.

The case has already caused embarrasment for the party and has the potential to cause more damage if it drags on. Last week the taoiseach accepted that the allegations surrounding Kelly were “a serious matter” and promised that the issue would not “be dropped”.

Kelly has reportedly failed to identify to gardai the apartment where the photographs were taken, and he has since been unavailable to comment further.

Kelly had been building a significant political base on Dublin’s northside and is said to be an ally of Noel Ahern, the taoiseach’s brother. He was co-opted onto the city council in 2003 and defended the seat in the local election of 2004.

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