History > 2007 > UK > Northern Ireland (III)
 

5.30pm GMT update

Hoey cleared

of Omagh bombing charges

Thursday December 20, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Haroon Siddique

An unemployed electrician was today cleared of the murder of 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst atrocity in more than three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.

The acquittal of 38-year-old Sean Hoey, from Jonesborough, south Armagh, comes as a crushing blow for the victims' families, who have been fighting for justice for more than 11 years.

Only one person, Hoey's uncle Colm Murphy, has ever been convicted of involvement in the blast, but his conviction was overturned in January 2005 after he had spent three years in jail.

Delivering the verdict at Belfast crown court, Mr Justice Weir said the evidence by the prosecution in the case did not meet the required standard.

He criticised the forensic evidence, the process of bagging, labelling and recording of exhibits and hit out at the "slapdash approach" and "cavalier disregard" the police and some forensic experts had for the integrity of forensic items.

Weir also referred to two police officers who he said had "beefed up" evidence.

Outside the courtroom, relatives of those who died responded to the judge's comments by attacking the RUC investigation.

"Those of us within court did hear a catalogue of events that beggars belief," said Michael Gallagher, chair of the Omagh victims' group.

Gallagher, whose 21-year-old son Aidan died in the blast, said he thought the police investigation was "finished" and the case would never come to court again.

"A major mistake was in bringing unprofessional DNA [evidence] to play in such a massive murder case," he said.

Gallagher said the case demonstrated the need for a cross-border inquiry into the "crime of the century".

Lawrence Rush, whose wife Elizabeth died in the blast described the judge as "good and honest" and said he was "tired and disappointed", but would not have wanted the wrong man to be convicted.

Victor Barker, whose 12-year-old son James died, said he was "very disappointed": "I believe in the system; sometimes I find it hard to live with," he said.

He blamed the RUC chief constable at the time, Ronnie Flanagan. "It's a great shame that the evidence was already contaminated when they gave it in 2002," he said.

Barker criticised Hoey's family and friends for cheering when the verdict was delivered, but called for everyone to work towards a "brighter future in Ireland".

The car bomb attack on August 15 1998, killed Protestants and Catholics and left 220 wounded, many with horrific injuries. It was carried out by the Real IRA, which opposed the Good Friday agreement that had been signed in April of that year and had kindled hope of bringing a lasting peace to the province.

Hoey, who was already in jail on remand for other alleged offences, was charged with the murders and multiple other crimes in May 2005.

The trial eventually began in September 2006. Hoey pleaded not guilty to 58 offences, two of which were eventually dropped. Today he was cleared of the remaining 56 offences. Hoey's mother Rita described the police investigation into her son as a "witch-hunt".

"I want the world to know that my son, Sean Hoey, is innocent," she said. "This is not a failure to bring those responsible to justice."

Weir took 11 months to reach his verdict since the trial concluded on January 17.

Detective Chief Superintendent Norman Baxter refused to answer questions on the judge's comments about the RUC, but said it was a "devastating" day for the victim's families and a "disappointing" one for the police service.

A police statement said they would study Weir's judgement for any organisational or procedural shortcomings that needed to be addressed.

"We also await the outcome of a police ombudsman investigation into two officers who gave evidence during the trial," it said.

Stan Brown, chief executive of the forensic science service for Northern Ireland, said the organisation would "take whatever steps" necessary to learn the lessons of the case.

The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland insisted the decision to prosecute Sean Hoey was "properly taken".

Hoey cleared of Omagh bombing charges, G, 20.12.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2230587,00.html

12.45pm GMT update

Former IRA leader

charged with tax evasion

Thursday November 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
David Batty and agencies


A former commander of the IRA, Thomas "Slab" Murphy, appeared in court today charged with tax evasion.

Mr Murphy, who led a wing of the Irish Republican Army that spearheaded most of the major bomb attacks on Britain during the Troubles, faced nine charges of failing to file tax returns when he appeared at Ardee district court in the border county of Louth.

The 58-year-old's address was given as Castletown Rd, Dundalk, County Louth.

Mr Murphy's arrest followed a joint operation by the UK Assets Recovery Agency - set up to seize the wealth and property of criminals and terrorists - and its Irish counterpart, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

Mr Murphy stood in the court as Detective Inspector Kevin Ring, of the CAB, told Judge Flan Brennan that the arrest was made at 9.25pm yesterday at the Dundalk address.

Mr Ring said Murphy was transported to Drogheda Garda Station, where he arrived at 9.50pm.

He was subsequently charged under the Tax Consolidation Act at 4.25am today. Mr Ring said that after each of the nine charges, Murphy replied: "I want my solicitor here."

Mr Ring told the court that he wanted Murphy remanded with substantial security.

He asked that the defendant hand over his passport and agree to sign on at Dundalk Garda Station on three days a week.

    Former IRA leader charged with tax evasion, G, 8.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2207236,00.html

'No ordinary smuggler'

Henry McDonald profiles
the former IRA commander Thomas 'Slab' Murphy

Thursday November 8, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Henry McDonald


For a life long republican dedicated to erasing the Irish border and reuniting the island of Ireland, Thomas "Slab" Murphy did very well out of the existence of the frontier marking out Northern Ireland from the Republic.

Because of the two different tax regimes on either side of the demarcation line - one for the UK, the other for the Irish Republic - he and his loyal lieutenants in the South Armagh Brigade were able to allegedly build up a criminal empire worth tens of millions of pounds.

They smuggled pigs, cattle, counterfeit goods and most of all illicit diesel between the two jurisdictions. Exploiting the higher taxes on fuel in Northern Ireland they sold cheap, smuggled diesel to motorists across the north without paying revenue duties to either the British or Irish exchequers.

A significant segment of the profits made from this illegal trade helped fund more than decades of terrorism. Murphy was no ordinary smuggler - he is believed to have donated millions to "the cause" and his largesse helped fund terror attacks not only in Northern Ireland but also in British cities as well as mainland Europe.

For example, the IRA commander - who is said to have been part of the Provisionals' ruling body, the Army Council, for almost twenty years - allegedly helped organised the 1983 bomb attack on Harrods store in west London. In a bitter twist of history it emerged last year that Murphy also owned a flat behind the Knightsbridge department store where six people died 24 years ago. It emerged too that he owned a range of properties in another English city the IRA once bombed, Manchester. Overall it is estimated his British property empire is worth around £30m.

Murphy's property portfolio was revealed after the UK's Assets Recovery Agency along with police on both sides of the Irish border raided his family farm at Larkins Road, a property which lies on either side of the frontier.

Now the ARA's equivalent in the Irish Republic - the Criminal Assets Bureau - are going to have their day in court with the man once regarded as one of Ireland's "untouchables".

In last year's raid "Slab" received a tip off he was about to be arrested and fled the farm, his cooked breakfast still on the kitchen table when officers from the Garda Siochana came knocking. Today he faces charges of tax evasion in a court not far from the border in Ardee, Co Louth.

The arrest of the man local republicans in South Armagh still call "the Boss" is an embarrassment for Gerry Adams. The Sinn Fein president has described Murphy as a dedicated republican who supports the peace process. His support for the Adams peace strategy has been crucial in keeping one of the IRA's most dangerous units quiet for the last decade.

The price up until recently had been a blind eye turned to that unit's deep involvement in crime along the border, which has not only filled the movement's war chest but also enriched many of the key players in South Armagh. The one consolation for Adams and the republican leadership today is that despite the arrest of "the Boss" the South Armagh Brigade is unlikely to go back to war - there is too much money at stake for them to risk restarting any armed struggle.

    'No ordinary smuggler', G, 8.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2207430,00.html

12.45pm GMT

Gerry Adams says sorry

to parents of IRA bomb victim

Thursday November 1, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Fred Attewill and agencies

The Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, has personally apologised to the parents of a 12-year-old boy killed by an IRA bomb after they invited him to speak at a peace debate.

Mr Adams also paid tribute to how Colin and Wendy Parry, whose son Tim died along with three-year-old Jonathan Ball in the 1993 Warrington bomb, had reacted to their loss.

Mr Parry, who has helped set up a foundation to encourage reconciliation in Northern Ireland, said it had been a hard decision to meet Mr Adams.

He added: "But it was infinitely easier than holding my son dying. It was infinitely easier than carrying him for the final time in his coffin.

"It was infinitely easier than saying my final farewell to him with my wife.

"I can also tell you that it is infinitely easier for Gerry and I to talk than to fight."

Speaking before the event at Canary Wharf in London, organised by Foundation for Peace, Mr Adams said the bomb had been instrumental in persuading the IRA to announce its first ceasefire in 1994.

He said: "The fact that two children were killed obviously had a devastating impact, not just on their families and their communities, but on parents, including me, back in Ireland.

"The IRA cessation came within a year of that bombing, and those deaths, but I have to say it was a long time in the making before that."

In his speech later, Mr Adams acknowledged that the bomb attack had brought "huge grief" and added that the IRA had expressed its regrets.

He said: "I have also expressed my personal and sincere regret, and apologised for the hurt inflicted by Republicans, and I do so again this evening.

"As we seek to move forward there's a requirement that we address the tragic human consequences of our actions."

    Gerry Adams says sorry to parents of IRA bomb victim, G, 1.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2203259,00.html

2.15pm

RUC ignored death threats

against murdered lawyer

Wednesday September 19, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Fred Attewill and agencies

Police in Northern Ireland ignored death threats against the Catholic solicitor Rosemary Nelson before she was murdered by loyalist terrorists, a report concluded today.

The human rights lawyer, who worked on a number of high-profile nationalist cases, had received seven threats against her life, including two allegedly made by RUC officers, and had been sent a bullet in the post.

Despite the threats, the report by the Northern Ireland police ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, found the RUC failed to acknowledge she was a target.

Nelson was sent an anonymous letter in June 1998, a year before her death, warning: "We have you in our sights ... RIP."

The solicitor died when the Red Hand Defenders placed a booby-trapped bomb under her BMW outside her home in Co Armagh in 1999.

Presenting her findings, Ms O'Loan said police should have made more strenuous efforts to establish a clearer picture of the level of risk and threat to Nelson, particularly given her profile at the time.

"[The RUC] did not acknowledge the existence of the previous death threats, including two threats which were said to have come from police officers," she said.

"Nor did they acknowledge a previous assessment in which Special Branch believed Mrs Nelson was at a 'degree of risk' and that police had taken some precautions.

"No individual officer had the responsibility for bringing together all these matters and making a risk and threat assessment based on all the available information.

"There were no systems in place at that time designed to ensure that information was captured and processed in that way."

However, several claims against the RUC, which has since been replaced, were dismissed.

Investigators established that police had no intelligence about threats to Nelson from either the Loyalist Volunteer Force or its splinter group, the Red Hand Defenders.

And the inquiry found no evidence to back up the testimony of an officer who claimed to have seen a uniformed sergeant at the bomb scene saying: "Fuck her, she is better off dead."

Nelson was a human rights lawyer who represented hundreds of Catholics and nationalists, including the Garvaghy Road residents involved in the Drumcree marching dispute in Portadown that was at its height when the threats were issued.

A public inquiry into the murder has been postponed. It is one of four inquiries into claims of security force collusion, with other cases including the murder of solicitor Robert Finucane and loyalist leader Billy Wright.

    RUC ignored death threats against murdered lawyer, G, 19.9.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2172547,00.html

British troops leave after 38 years

Simple lowering of flag
marks end of longest operation in UK military history

Wednesday August 1, 2007
Guardian
Esther Addley

Twenty or so years ago, when John Davis bought a semi in the Co Armagh village of Bessbrook, the name on the door was Woodview. But with Europe's busiest heliport on the other side of his garden wall, attached to a British army base surrounded by screens, security barriers and observation posts, there weren't too many woods to be seen.

"So I decommissioned that name and called it Heliview. It seemed fitting."

Today there is no trace of the military Lynx and Chinook helicopters, often mounted with semi-automatic weapons, that took off from Bessbrook Mill every eight minutes at their peak. There is not even a helipad any longer.

Instead, a digger was dragging up rubble yesterday from the battle-scarred field and preparing to replace it with topsoil, to be smoothed out over the site and replanted for agriculture - as if nothing had ever happened there.

The departure of the last soldiers from Bessbrook a month ago represented one of the final acts of the British army's active deployment in Northern Ireland. At midnight last night, it ended for good. Thirty-eight years after 250 soldiers from the First Regiment of Wales marched up the Falls Road in Belfast to help quell sectarian disturbances, Operation Banner, the longest operation in British military history, was declared over. Few at the time thought the troops would be required for more than six months.

It was, the army insisted yesterday, an event without ceremony - just the simple lowering of a flag inside Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, headquarters of the military presence in Northern Ireland throughout the Troubles. The military presence has been diminishing for several years from its 1972 peak of 25,700.

Stephen Restorick, the last soldier to be killed by the IRA, in 1997, was the 763rd military casualty of the conflict; in 1972 alone, 134 soldiers from mainland and local regiments died, a casualty rate higher than losses in Iraq or Afghanistan. Overall Restorick was the 3,554th person to die in a conflict that would claim almost 100 more. Everyone in Bessbrook can tell you about Lance Bombardier Restorick: he was shot in the back while manning a checkpoint.

It is a measure of how far Northern Ireland has come in the subsequent 10 years that few are sorry to see the departure of the troops on either side of the political divide.

A total of 301 people were killed by the army in its four-decade deployment, including 138 Catholic civilians and 20 Protestant civilians.

Even among the unionist community there is an acceptance that the coming of this day is a positive development. The DUP MP and local assembly member Jeffrey Donaldson, who served in the Ulster Defence Regiment, said: "Today marks a big step on the road to normality here, and even those of us who have been supportive of what the army has done recognise that their presence is no longer required in the way that it was."

It is an irony of history that one of the reasons troops were sent to Northern Ireland was to defend Catholic communities from attacks by Protestants. Their early welcome soon soured, however, thanks to continuing loyalist unrest, an increasingly repressive approach by the military and the revival of the IRA.

It culminated in an event that perhaps more than any other throughout the 40 years wounded the army's authority in Northern Ireland. Fourteen unarmed Catholics were shot dead by members of the Parachute Regiment during a civil rights march in Derry on Bloody Sunday - January 30 1972.

John Kelly's 17-year-old brother, Michael, was one. " I am glad to see the back of them for all the pain and bloodshed that they caused during that time," Mr Kelly said.

"The Parachute Regiment has carried the blood of hundreds of people on its hands in terms of what happened subsequently ... The IRA expanded massively after Bloody Sunday, people who never would have thought about getting involved."

Patrick Mercer was 19 when he first came, as an officer in the Sherwood Foresters, to Ballykelly barracks in 1975; by 1992, when he left as a major, he had served "endless numbers of tours" of Northern Ireland.

He said: "The great difficulty that we faced is that it's very hard taking a big blunt instrument and on the one hand getting it ready to hold back the Soviet invaders and, on the other, putting it in what were much of the time very ordinary urban or semi-rural circumstances, saying that every shot had to count, that you couldn't make any mistakes."

Mr Mercer, now Conservative MP for Newark, acknowledges that the army made "very, very serious mistakes", principal among them the internment without trial of hundreds of young Catholic men in August 1971, an operation that yielded little intelligence but fiercely radicalised a generation.

"It's one of the reasons why I am so keen to avoid the government making the same mistake over the 28-day limit [for detention without trial] ," he said yesterday.

British soldiers have not vanished from Northern Ireland; a permanent peacetime garrison of no more than 5,000 will remain, with the same function as any other barracks in Britain.

Back in Bessbrook, though the helicopters have gone Mr Davis has no plans to change the name of his home. "Maybe the tourists will come and look at it in the future and wonder," he said.

British troops leave after 38 years, G, 1.8.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,,2138980,00.html