Paul Murphy takes legal action against Heather Humphreys following remarks in an RTÉ debate

Paul Murphy has formally started defamation proceedings against presidential candidate Heather Humphreys, following comments she made during an RTÉ debate.

The People Before Profit TD sent a solicitor's letter to Humphreys asking her to withdraw and apologise for her comments made in relation to Murphy’s role in an anti-water charges protest in Jobstown in Tallaght in November 2014.

He was on of six men charged for falsely imprisoning the then Tánaiste Joan Burton and her assistant Karen O’Connell in their car.

Murphy and the five other men were found not guilty by a jury in 2017.

His legal team claimed that the Fine Gael candidate accused Murphy of  "violent criminal conduct", calling the incident "an act of gender-based violence" and stating that he was a "misogynist."

They said that the remarks were “grossly defamatory” and that he “suffered in his character and reputation."

They added that Murphy had been exposed to "odium, ridicule, and contempt."

The letter also asked for Humphreys to meet his legal costs.