Judge to decide Paisley's fate in sources case
A Stormont Assembly member who defied a judge’s ruling ordering him to reveal a confidential source is today set to find out what punishment he will face.
Mr Justice Gillen, sitting in Belfast High Court, is due to deliver his findings in Ian Paisley jnr’s contempt of court hearing.
The North Antrim representative has refused to disclose the name of a prison officer to the inquiry team that’s probing the murder of loyalist paramilitary leader Billy Wright inside the Maze prison in 1997.
The officer, a constituent of the MLA, told him that there was a policy of file destruction within the Prison Service in the wake of the killing by INLA inmates.
The inquiry team took a case against Mr Paisley demanding that he name the name, but despite the court finding against him he has so far refused to pass it over, claiming it would break a pledge of confidentiality.
While the politician could face prison for not complying with the order, a lawyer for the inquiry team yesterday told Justice Gillen he should not impose a custodial sentence because that’s what the MLA wanted.
John Larkin QC claimed the former Stormont junior minister would relish a term behind bars because he appears to think it would further his political career.
But Mr Paisley’s lawyer Joseph Aiken denied his client wanted to go to jail.
He told Justice Gillen that the Assembly member was facing a mounting bill - that currently stands at £35,000 – for defending the principle of confidentiality in the courts, and that that should be punishment enough.
He also revealed that Mr Paisley had made two attempts to convince his source to allow him to disclose his identity but that the prison officer had refused.
The judge, who will hear further legal submissions today before giving his ruling, said while Mr Paisley had clearly defied the court order he had to be proportionate in whatever punishment he imposed.
