FORMER Fermanagh businessman Sean Quinn has been sentenced to nine weeks in prison for contempt of court.

The one-time billionaire will start his prison sentence straight away, the High Court in Dublin has been told.

Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne rejected the 66-year-old's evidence in the contempt hearing as 'not credible, evasive and unco-operative'.

The decision to jail him was over "outrageous" contempt of court orders restricting multi-million euro assets from the family's international property group.

While Judge Dunne acknowledged the "impassioned plea" not to jail Mr Quinn, she said: "In my view he has only himself to blame".

She had previously found both Sean Quinn and his son, Sean Junior guilty of contempt for moving multi-million euro assets beyond the reach of the former Anglo Irish Bank, now known as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.

Lawyers for Mr Quinn pleaded with the High Court on Thursday not to jail him, claiming he was "forlorn" and "broken" as a result of the actions of the IBRC.

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