Tag: Queen’s Counsel

Thwarted mortar attack ‘targeted security forces’ !!!

Court told of recon against police and prison officers

A MORTAR-BOMB attack was being planned on a security force vehicle in Co Armagh, the High Court heard yesterday.

DENIED BAIL: Damien Duffy

Prosecutors said reconnaissance was used against police and prison staff, including a governer, over a two-year period. Suspects drove past one target’s home more than 50 times in eight days, a judge was told. Details emerged as one of three men accused of a plot to bomb and killwas refused bal. Damien Duffy (43), of Campbell Walk in Lurgan, Co Armagh, is charged with conspiracy to murder, conspiring to cause an explosion and collecting iformation likely to be used to terrorists. He was arrested in May last year after a nine-month police iinvestigation involving surveillance, tracking and covert recordings. The alleged offences, stretching back to November 2009, relate to police and prison officers ‘ movements in the Lurgan and Craigavon areas, their addresses and routes taken to and from work. A prosecution barrister said audio recordings showed the Kilmore Road and Cottage Road junction in Lurgan was to be used for a mortar-bomb attack on security forces. The location is on a route regularly used by police and prison staff, the court heard. Alleged discussions between the suspects including references to lines of sight, getting angles right and breaking cover. The barrister said attack planning was carried out on two identified prison officers as they came and went to Maghaberry Prison in Co Antrim.

Lord Justice Coghlin was told that the governor’s home in a rural setting  was passed several times for no apparent legitimate reason. The barrister said two of the accused scouted one officer’s home on 54 occasions – including 21 times in a 90-minute period. According to police, anti surveillance techniques and U-turns were performed. Discussions about the areas for carrying out an attack, escape routes and “giving it 20 seconds to get down there” were recorded, the court heard. It was accepted that forensic analysis of the audio recordings was unable to attribute any of the remarks to Duffy. However, the court was told independent witnesses said he had been in the car used during the alleged offences. Mark Mulholland QC, defending, said Duffy should be released due to the “paucity” of evidence and delays in processing the case. “The starting point is what can be aattributed to this accused and at no time is there any express reference to targeting, weaponry or anything of that nature,” he said. “What appears to be a case grounded principally on what can be inferred or speculated was at hand does not pass muster. “In the period of time the accused was under surveillance, whatever was being suggested by the prosecution absolutely nothing happened.” Lord Justice Coghlin said an explanation would eventually have to be given. Separating terrorist offences from other crimes, he said: “It’s nothing whatever to do with the political beliefs of those charged. “It’s to do with a very small group of people who are not prepared to take part in a democracy but wish to achieve what they beleive to be some firm of political end by killing and injuring people. “In cases of terrorism the offence is driven by a warped political ideology. Therefore there is a significantly higher risk of further offences.”

With many thanks to : The Irish News.

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MAN JAILED FOR STORING WEAPONS

A “RRELUCTANT store man” who was caught red handed with a small arsenal of weaponry has been jailed for more than three years.

Some of the weapons found on Thomas John Edwards. He was jailed yesterday for six and a half years, with half spent on licence.

Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland told 49-year-old Thomas John Edwards he accepted he had been under a degree of pressure from others to become a “reluctant store man” for the items. He sentenced him to six and a half years with half spent on licence. Just before his trial was due to start last July EEdwards, from Tullygalley in Craigavon, pleaded guilty to having guns, ammunition and explosives with intent to enable others to endanger life on 10 August 2011. Edwards also admitted possessing a balaclava for terrorist purposes and providing his home, for terrorism. Prosecuting QC Ciaran Murphy told Belfast Crown Court that in an intelligence led operation, police searched Edwards home and uncovered the items at locations in the house.

An AK47 assault rifle along with numerous bullets were found. The grip stock and trigger mechanism for a recoil less improvised grenade launcher was uncovered in a bag in the kitchen cupboard while 5.1 grammes of black arms propellant was hidden inside s pepper pot. Mr Murphy said that wrapped in a yellow in a yellow duster in the same cupboard was an automatic Beretta pistol with a loaded magazine. He added that in total, police found 46 bullets and told the court how small arms propellant was commonly used in pipe bombs while a grenade launcher was first used in an attack in Belfast in May 1991 but “has been encountered on a number of other occasions”. Following the sentencing, PSNI Detective Superintendent Glenn Wright of Serious Crime Branch said: “Mr Edwards is in jail, the weapons are off the streets. This is yet aanother example of the PSNI’s determination to protect the community and bring terrorists to justice.”

With many thanks to : The Irish News.

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Man caught with loaded handgun shouted “tiocfaidh ar la”, judge told.

A MAN allegedly caught with a loaded handgun shouted out “tiocfaidh at LA” as police put him in their car, a judge has heard.

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Belfast Crown Court also heard that when officers stopped the Ford Fiesta car being driven by 29-year-old Mark McGuigan close to a forest outside Omagh, he had to be pulled from the car and struggled throughout. Ciaran Murphy QC, prosecuting, told Judge Corinne Philpott QC, sitting without a jury, that having been restrained and put into a protective forensic suit, Mr McGuigan yelled out the republican mantra ‘our day will come’ as officers put him into a waiting police car. Inside the Ford Fiesta, officer uncovered two socks with one containing a loaded revolver and the other 33 assorted bullets. Mr McGuigan, from Sperrin View in OOmagh, denies possecessing the gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life under suspicious circumstances. Mr Murphy told the court the gun had been deactivated in 2003 but had been reactivated to fire live bullets. He added that the firing pin in the revolver was not long enough, although a small adjustment would have been enough to allow the gun to fire. Three other men who were also in the car, including two men who were hiding under a sleeping bag in the folded down rear seats, have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentence. The trial continues.

With many thanks to : The Irish News.

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BALLYMURPHY MASSACRE SUPPORT GROUP FOR THE TRUTH !!!

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Ciaran Cahill

The Ballymurphy Massacre Families are very upset by the news that the coroner has suspended the inquest into the deaths of their loved ones. This decision was made without the knowledge or consultation with the families. At a preliminary hearing this morning the senior corner informed legal representation for the families of Francis Rowntree, who was also murdered by the British Army, that he had legal advice that the decision of the Attorney General, John Larkin QC, to direct fresh inquests into legacy inquests may be unlawful.

The senior coroner also informed legal representation that he was taking no further action into the inquests directed in these cases until he has sought the views of the British Secretary of State and the Advocate General. The Ballymurphy Massacre Families had welcomed the decision last year by the Attorney General to reopen 10 inquests relating to the deaths of our loved ones 41 years ago. We commended the Attorney General for showing leadership and credibility in announcing that the inquests would be reopened.

We feel that when he considered the facts surrounding the sham inquests which took place 41 years ago his decision was the correct one. We regard the original sham inquests as a serious neglect of duty by everyone involved and leave a lot of questions to be answered. The families believe that these inquests must be held without delay, with significant resources and funding provided to the coroner and the families legal representatives to ensure that all of the facts are known. The Ballymurphy Massacre Families are considering a Judicial Review against the senior coroner John Leckey in the light of his decision to suspend the inquests and will not rest until the decision has been overturned.

The Ballymurphy Massacre Families are very upset by the news that the coroner has suspended the inquest into the deaths of their loved ones. This decision was made without the knowledge or consultation with the families. At a preliminary hearing this morning the senior corner informed legal representation for the families of Francis Rowntree, who was also murdered by the British Army, that he had legal advice that the decision of the Attorney General, John Larkin QC, to direct fresh inquests into legacy inquests may be unlawful. The senior coroner also informed legal representation that he was taking no further action into the inquests directed in these cases until he has sought the views of the British Secretary of State and the Advocate General. The Ballymurphy Massacre Families had welcomed the decision last year by the Attorney General to reopen 10 inquests relating to the deaths of our loved ones 41 years ago. We commended the Attorney General for showing leadership and credibility in announcing that the inquests would be reopened. We feel that when he considered the facts surrounding the sham inquests which took place 41 years ago his decision was the correct one. We regard the original sham inquests as a serious neglect of duty by everyone involved and leave a lot of questions to be answered. The families believe that these inquests must be held without delay, with significant resources and funding provided to the coroner and the families legal representatives to ensure that all of the facts are known. The Ballymurphy Massacre Families are considering a Judicial Review against the senior coroner John Leckey in the light of his decision to suspend the inquests and will not rest until the decision has been overturned. · 15 November 2012 ·

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EX-SINN FEIN COUNCILLOR TO BE SENTENCED FOR ABUSE

‘[The victim] had 20 bruises on the head, six stitches under her left eye, cut on the right cheek, severe bruising on her inner thighs, gashes and scarabs on her back, bruises on her trunk, a burn on one foot and cuts on the other – Medical report.

FORMER Shame Fein councillor Bridge Meehan is to be sentenced today for abusing a stepdaughter left in her care more than three decades ago. Last month the former New town abbey councillor pleaded guilty to child cruelty and neglect over a 15-month period from 1979 to 1980 when Mary Meehan was 10 years old.

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Briege Meehan, a widow of IRA commander Martin Meehan, also admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the child left in her care while her father was in prison. In the first she hit the girl with a bottle in a bag, causing an injury to her head. The second attack involved either a shoe or a a broom. It caused an injury to the child’s eye that required stitches. Sexual assault charges were not proceeded with but were left on the books. Reports from social services and a nurse at Holy Cross Girls School showed that concern for the child’s welfare had been raised on several occasions.

Anonymous phone calls were also made to social services by neighbours who reported seeing the child with bruises and black eyes. Malnourished to the point of collapse, battered, bruised and locked in an attic room, Mary Meehan was eventually rescued from the house in Northwick Drive in Ardoyne by the parish priest. On October 16 1980, the day she was placed into care, a medical report stated : “When examined at Lissue she had 20 bruises on the head, six stitches under her left eye, cut on the right cheek, severe bruising on her inner thighs, gashes and scarabs on her back, bruises on her trunk, a burn on one foot and cuts on the other.” Bridge Meehan has been on bail throughout the case. Judge Gordon Kerr QC asked for pre sentencing reports and a victim impact statement to be prepared before he sentences the 65-year-old, whose address was given as Elmfield Street in North Belfast. Judge Kerr QC, adjourned the case yesterday morning to read over the new reports and put back sentencing until Friday morning 5th July.

With many thanks to : Allison Morris, The Irish News.

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70-year-old ‘DWELLING IN PAST’ HAD BOMBS AND GUNS IN CAR !

ARTICLES: Police-issued photos of the car in which Thomas Maguire was traveling and the ammunition, gun and coffee-jar-bomb components which were recovered from the vehicle and during related searches.

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A 70-year-old former paramilitary prisoner who “just can’t seem to let go of the past” has been jailed for six and a half years after police “fortuitously” found a coffee-jar bomb and guns in his car. Thomas Maguire, from Suffolk Drive in West Belfast – who was jailed for 20 years in 1975 for having explosives with intent to endanger life – was caught with the items when police stopped his Ford Mondeo after a high-speed chase in August 2011.

Kate McKay, prosecuting, told Belfast Crown Court that police uncovered a coffee-jar bomb, component parts of other bombs and a wide variety of guns, 100 rounds of assorted bullets and suspected shotgun propellant. Officers were led to Maguire’s home address after his fingerprint was found on the sliding mechanism of a semi-automatic pistol found during searches in Nearly in September 2010 when police raided a firearms workshop. In March Bryan McManus (56), from Aileen Terrace in Newry, was also jailed for six and a half years after the engineer admitted that he had been involve in reactivating weaponry for dissident republicans. Ms McKay said during two days of questioning, Maguire refused to answer questions but he later pleaded guilty to seven offences of having the firarms and explosives with intent to endanger life and under suspicious circumstances, and having articles for use in terrorism on August 2 2011. He also admitted having a semi-automatic pistol which was found during the Newry searches, also with intent and under suspicious circumstances on dates between September 2007 and September 2010.

“Police would accept that if his print had not been found in the workshop [ of McManus ], effectively they would not have become aware but officers are concerned about the nature of the weapons and the use that they have been put to in recent years,” Ms McKay said, adding that although Maguire’s criminal record is old, “it is significant”. Frank O’Donoghue QC, defending, said it was a “most unusual and striking case” that a man “of his age if not his dotage is involving himself in something that’s really now beyound his capacity”. “He seems to dwell in the past,” Mr O’Donoghue said. He said Maguire had the weaponry more “to protect his ccommunity” rather than any attack on security personnel. The lawyer said Maguire had access to the weaponry through involvement with a west Belfast museum to commemorate the Troubles. Judge McFarland told Maguire he seemed “to be someone who just can’t let go of the past”. “This isn’t just a case of a pike in a thatch, that doesn’t apply to modern Ireland. We have now moved on but sadly, you are not moving on with the times,” she said. Following sentencing, Detective Superintendent Glenn Branch, from the Serious Crime Branch, said police would leave “no stone unturned in our efforts to bring before the courts all those involved in terrorist-linked offences, regardless of age”. Police yesterday released photographs of the items found in Maguire’s car but when asked for a photograph of the pensioner, a PSNI spokesman said they did not believe releasing a image “of the defendant is appropriate or proportionate in this instance”.

With many thanks to : The Irish News.

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TAXI DRIVER SENTENCED FOR ATTACK ON SCHOOLGIRL

‘During police interviews the taxi driver claimed nothing had happened.

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A TAXI driver who sexually molested a teenage schoolgirl after telling her she had “nice legs” has been jailed for a year. As well as ordering William Torbitt (39) to spend two years on supervised licence conditions, Belfast Crown Court Judge Gordon Kerr QC also ordered him to sign the the police sex register for the rest of his life.

The judge had earlier heard how Torbitt collected the girl from her school on February 13 and was taking her to a medical appointment when the incident happened. Rosemary Walsh, prosecuting, recounted how Torbitt told the girl she “must do PE because you have nice legs” and then he asked her to move her blazer so that he could see them. He then reached over and touched the girl. Torbitt, from Mayfield Heights in Newtownabbey, had also twice asked the girl what age she was told twice that she was 14. Following the attack Torbitt took the girl to her appointment where she reported what happened. Torbitt was then arrested later that day. During police iinterviews the taxi driver claimed nothing had happened, maintain that stance even when DNA evidence of the girl’s DNA profile was uncovered under his finger nails and that was put to him. However, he later pleaded guilty to a single charge of sexual activity with a child. A defence lawyer said the married father-of-two had suffered a a “moment of madness” for which he was already paying a heavy price in terms of the loss of his reputation, job, liberty and marriage.

With many thanks to : Irish News.

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OFFICERS TO GIVE EVIDENCE ON PSNI/RUC ‘BID TO SABOTAGE APPEAL’ !

‘It’s our case  that police have manipulated and subverted the appeal process – Barry Macdonald QC.

POLICE decision-making and arresting officers are to give evidence about an alleged attempt to sabotage appeals by two men jailed for murdering  Constable Stephen Carroll, a court has heard. Amid repeated claims that the PSNI/RUC tried to stymie the legal process by detaining a new witness, senior judges were told covert surveillance recordings were also to be examined.

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Details emerged as an unprecedented bid to secure independent oversight of the ongoing police investigation was put back until October. Interference  has been alleged by lawyers for John Paul Wotton and Brendan McConville, both of whom are seeking to overturn their murder convictions. Constable Carroll was ambushed and shot dead as he responded to a 999 call at Lismore Manor, Craigavon on March 2009. McConville (41), of Glenholme Avenue in the town, is serving at least a 25-year sentence for the killing. Wotton (22), of Collindale, Lurgan, received a minimum 14-year term. Days before their joint appeal was to get under way last month, a man related to a key prosecution witness was arrested and held for two days before being released without charge. This man has made a sworn court statement branding his relative a compulsive liar.

According to defence lawyers police arrested him in a bid to pressure him into withdrawing his evidence and told him he would be discredited if he testified.The lawyers want the Court of Appeal to direct independent oversight of this aspect of the investigation. One option would be for the Criminal Cases Review Commission to intervene. A separate request has been made to the police oombudsman to look into allegations of misconduct. In court yesterday Barry Macdonald QC, for McConville, said : “It’s our case that police have manipulated and subverted the appeal process.” Questions to be decided in the defence application include :

  • Was  the surveillance operation properly authorised under laws governing the use of covert techniques?
  • Was the arrest of the new witness lawful and necessary?
  • Was there any attempt to presuade or coerce him to alter his evidence?
  • Has there been any police manipulation of the process?
  • If so, what are the consequences?

Mr Macdonald said he intended to call the new wwitness and at least one solicitor to testify. Ciaran Murphy QC, for the Public Prosecution Service, told the court that all police officers who had either decided to make the arrest or carried it out would be expected to give evidence. All interviews and recordings should be gone through as well, in a process that could take days, he suggested. Mr Murphy said he was satisfied proper authorisation was obtained in relation to the covert material. “If there is action by the police either inappropriate or unlawful, past or future, there is a clear remedy open to the defendants,” he said. However, Mr Macdonald expressed concern that the application would not be heard until October, when the appeal itself is scheduled to begin. “In the absence of any measures to provide independent oversight of this investigation the court itself will have exposed itself to possible liability for breach of article 6 [ right to a fair trial ],” the lawyer said. The case was adjourned for a further review next month.

With many thanks to : Irish News.

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JUDGE WILL READ FINUCANE FILES BEFORE ANY DISCLOSURE TO FAMILY

Notes on meeting may help to quash refusal of full probe.

A HIGH Court judge is to examine British government meeting notes before deciding whether they should be disclosed to the family of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane. Mr Justice Stephens ruled that he should first inspect a series of documents and emails being sought as part of a legal challenge to the refusal to order a full, independent inquiry into the 1989 shooting.

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Confidentiality issues will not make them immune from disclosure, he said. Mr Finucane’s widow Geraldine wants full access to the material including minutes from cabinet meetings and correspondence between Downing Street officials. A review by Sir Desmond due Silva QC has confirmed that agents of the state were involved in the murder and it should have been prevented. However, it concluded that there had been no overarching state conspiracy in the shooting carried out by the UFF at the solicitor’s North Belfast home. Although Prime Minister David Cameron expressed shock at the level of collusion Sir Desmond uncovered, Mrs Finucane said it a sham and a whitewash. During her application for complete disclosure of notes and recordings the court was told of emailed correspondence in which one of Mr Cameron’s closest advisers described the murder as far worse than anything alleged in Iraq or Afghanistan. Sir Jeremy Heywood, now the cabinet secretary, also questioned whether the prime minister beleived it was right to “renege” on a previous administration’s commitment to hold a public inquiry into a killing he referred to as “a dark moment in the country’s history”, the judge was told.

Lawyers for the Finucane family argued that the case is about past and present abuse of state power. They said it involved the killing of a solicitor percived to be “a thorn in the side” of the government, police and security services. It was claimed that a further abuse of power occurred in 2011 when the current government reneged on a commitment to hold ap public inquiry. The court heard details of an email Sir Jeremy sent to Simon King, a private secretary to the prime minister, ahead of a ministerial meeting in July 2011. In correspondence already disclosed to the parties, he asked : “Does the PM seriously think that it’s right to renege on a previous government’s clear commitment to hold a full judicial inquiry ? “This was a dark moment in the country’s history – far worse than anything that was alleged in Iraq/Afghanistan. “I cannot really think of any arguement to defend not having a public inquiry. What am I missing ?” A replay email stated that the prime minister “shares the view this is an awful case, and as bad as it gets, and far worse than any post -9/11 allegation”. Material being sought by the Finucanes’ lawyers includes origional notes, minutes, recordings or transcripts of :

  • a meeting of ministers on July 11 2011
  • a cabinet meeting on October 11 2011

copies of letters from MI5 to the NIO in February and March 2011.

Delivering judgement on the discovery application, Mr Justice Stephens held that Mrs Finucane’s legal team had established sufficient necessity. He said : “I direct that I should receive and inspect the outstanding documents so that I may decide whether disclosure would give sufficient extra assistance to the applicant’s case, over and above the material that has already been furnished.” Further submissions are to be made on any redactions required should he ultimately decide that the material must be handed over.

With many thanks to : Irish news.

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POLICE ‘TRIED TO SABOTAGE’ APPEAL IN CONSTABLE MURDER CASE

” Two police officers called at the house of this wwitness on whose fresh evidence we rely…. it appears they forced their way into the house and proceeded to warn him that if he went to court he would be discredited ” – Barry Macdonald QC.

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POLICE have made an apparent attempt to sabotage appeals by two men convicted of murdering Constable Stephen Carroll, a court heard yesterday. A new witness in the case of John Paul Wotton and Brendan McConville was arrested last week and held for two days before being released without charge in a bid to pressure him into withdrawing his evidence, it was claimed.

Senior judges were told officers had forced their way into his home and warned him he would be discredited if he went to court. Yesterday the planned five-day hearing of the appeal by the pair found guilty of the killing was adjourned because of uncertainty over the potential fresh evidence. Defence lawyers said they would lodge a complaint with the police oombudsman’s office. Constable Carroll was ambushed and shot dead as he responded to an emergency call at Lismore Manor in Craigavon in March 2009. McConville (41), of Glenholme Avenue in the town, is serving at least a 25-year sentence for the murder. Wotton (22), of Collingdale, Lurgan, received a minimum 14-year term. Dressed in dark suits and wearing shirts and ties, both men were led handcuffed into a packed Court of Appeal for the planned opening of their cchallenge.

Family, friends and supporters, including Paddy Hill of the Birmingham Six and Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four (pictured above), gathered in the public gallery a few feet away from the murdered officer’s wife Kate Carroll. They heard prosecution counsel Ciaran Murphy QC seek an adjournment because of the new developments. He said an arrest had been made last week as part of a surveillance operation. “There are a number of lines of inquiry that are not yet complete,” he said. Two lever-arch files of new material have emerged and include the contents of 11 interviews. Mr Murphy indicated that ongoing police inquires could take several weeks. McConville’s barrister Barry Macdonald QC stressed that the prosecution case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence, primarily from a man identified only as witness M who claimed to have seen McConville in the area at the time of the killing. Earlier this month a relative of witness M who did not testify at the trial gave an affidavit branding him a compulsive liar, the court heard. Mr Macdonald said the affidavit stated “that he was known to the family as a Walter Mitty, that made up stories, that he had a fertile imagination and you could not believe anything he said “. According to the relative, witness M could not have taken the route he claimed on the night of the murder because his partner was not welcome in his home.

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Mr Macdonald told the court : “Then last Monday two police officers called at the house of this witness on whose fresh evidence we rely. “On my instructions it appears they forced their way into the house and proceeded to warn him that if he went to court he would be discredited.” The three appeal judges, Lord Chief Justice Declan Morgan and Lords Justices Higgins and Coghlin, were informed that letters of complaint were also to be sent to the Public Prosecution Service and the Law Society amid concerns that covert surveillance might have been used against the witness, his solicitor or both. Mr Macdonald described the application to adjourn the hearing as “suspicious to say the least”. Defence teams would have no faith in police carrying out an investigation into the issues raised because of the apparent conflict of interest, the barrister said. It was alleged that officers had been able to “arrest this witness and to subject him to pressure – we say improper pressure – with a view to securing the withdrawal of his evedence and therefore undermining the appeal”. Mr Macdonald called for a more independent oversight process. “I’m simply registering strong objection to the conduct that appears to have taken place here and flagging up our deep concerns at the prospect that police should be given more time to sabotage this appeal and put their case togeather,” he said. Following discussions Sir Declan confirmed that the hearing would be postponed until October.

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Solicitors seek ‘independent’ investigators

SOLICITORS acting for Brendan McConville will ask a court to appoint “independent” investigators after the PSNI/RUC was accused of trying to “sabotage” his appeal. Kevin Winters last night said he would ask the Court of Appeal to allow the Criminal Cases Review Commission to oversee the PSNI/RUC investigation into a new witness in the case just days after that witness signed an affidavit for the defence team. This arrest was made after a surveillance operation that is understood to have focused on several people. It is beleived to be the first time a court in the North of Ireland will be asked to remove control of an investigation from the PSNI/RUC and hand it to the commission. Set up in 1997 the commission reviews possible miscarriages of justice.

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Defence solicitors say it can oversee police investigations in certain circumstances. Mr Winters emphasised the need for an independant body to look at the matter. The police ombudsman’s office has also asked to probe the circumstances of the witness’s arrest. “We have concerns and they were highlighted in court about the manner in which the police have approached this and have written to the police ombudsman and in the strongest terms voiced our grave concerns,” Mr Winters said. The lawyer said he had also written to the Law Society and had asked the Public Prosecution Service to confirm it had offered direction or advice to the PSNI/RUC in relation to the arrest of witness M’s relative. A PSNI/RUC spokesman said : “Police inquiries into this matter are continuing and as such it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

With many thanks to : Connia Young, Irish News.

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