Seán Quinn has said Kevin Lunney should not have been kidnapped and tortured as he 'wasn't to blame' for what happened to the Quinn Group.

Mr Lunney, who was an executive at Quinn Industrial Holdings, suffered injuries to his legs, torso and face after he was abducted outside his home in Co Fermanagh in September 2019.

He was found injured in Co Clare several hours later.

Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) was set up in 2014 to acquire the construction industry supply and packaging businesses of the former Quinn Group, which had been controlled by Seán Quinn and his family.

File photo shows Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) offices in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh in November 2019. Image: Liam McBurney/PA Wire/PA Images

Mr Quinn, who was once estimated to be worth up to €4.5 billion, gambled on contracts for difference shares in Anglo Irish Bank before its collapse during the crash.

Mr Quinn also borrowed large amounts from Anglo to try pay off his losses.

He told The Hard Shoulder he wanted to set the record straight with his autobiography, which is out this week.

"I wrote this book just to straighten out exactly what happened over the last 10/15 years," he said.

"People were under a sort of misapprehension about what went on, and there was a narrative being told that probably wasn't the true narrative.

"I tried in the book just to straighten that out."

Seán Quinn In My Own Words book cover

Mr Quinn said he believes there are a number of main culprits for pushing a false narrative.

"I suppose the media were the main ones, and then I suppose Anglo and the Irish Government had a very powerful PR team in place," he said.

"This is not Seán Quinn, this is the facts - this is stated in law - that it was them and the ODCE didn't blame us for anything."

Kevin Lunney 'wasn't to blame'

Mr Quinn said Kevin Lunney was given the dirty work to do 'by others'.

"Kevin Lunney knows well that I had no hand, act or part in Kevin Lunney's abduction," he said.

"The simple facts of it are that they all know that they were very, very unpopular.

"In fairness to Kevin, I was a good friend of Kevin's, I had good time for Kevin... Kevin was given the dirty work by others who were sitting back, making the balls and Kevin was throwing them.

"He got the blame for a lot of it, and I don't think he was to blame."

Kevin Lunney speaks to BBC Spotlight NI. Image: BBC

Mr Quinn claimed if anyone was to be kidnapped, it would be 'people at a higher level'.

"What happened happened and it was disgraceful what happened, and I've said that a number of times," he said.

"Certainly if Seán Quinn wanted somebody to be kidnapped in Derrylin - and it's something that would never, ever cross my mind, or anybody belonged to me - the Quinns are not that type of people.

"But if we did feel that somebody should be beaten up or whatever it might be, it certainly wouldn't be Kevin Lunney.

"It'd be people at a higher level than Kevin Lunney.

"Kevin Lunney I think was made the scapegoat, it wasn't his idea to take over the Quinn Group and throw me out," he added.

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'Seán Quinn In My Own Words' is published by Orpen Press

Main image: Ex-billionaire businessman Sean Quinn arrives at the Circuit Criminal Court, Dublin in February 2014. Image: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo