Review of republican fugitive letters finds two further errors

A judge-led review ordered after an IRA bomb suspect was wrongly given a government assurance he was not wanted by UK police has identified two other cases where similar errors were apparently made.

Review of republican fugitive letters finds two further errors

A judge-led review ordered after an IRA bomb suspect was wrongly given a government assurance he was not wanted by UK police has identified two other cases where similar errors were apparently made.

Lady Justice Hallett, who was asked by British Prime Minister David Cameron to examine the administrative process for dealing with so-called "on-the-runs", found systematic flaws in its operation – but concluded it was not unlawful in principle.

The judge said the scheme agreed between the last Labour government and Sinn Fein was not well publicised, and effectively kept “below the radar”, but was not secret.

“The administrative scheme did not amount to an amnesty,” she said.

“Suspected terrorists were not handed a ’get out of jail free card’.”

Under the scheme, which started running in 2000, almost 190 republicans who had left UK jurisdiction received assurances they were not being sought by British authorities. A number who applied for assurances were not granted them because they were considered as wanted.

The probe by Lady Justice Hallett was ordered in the wake of the high profile collapse of a case against Co Donegal man John Downey, who was accused of murdering four soldiers in the IRA’s Hyde Park bombing in 1982.

The prosecution of Mr Downey, 62, was halted at the Old Bailey in February after Mr Justice Sweeney found he had been wrongly sent one of the Government’s letters of assurance in 2007 when in fact the Metropolitan Police were looking for him.

The judge decided his arrest, when he travelled through Gatwick airport last year, and the subsequent prosecution had therefore represented an abuse of process. Mr Downey denied involvement in the attack.

Police in the North were heavily criticised over the error in the Downey case but the court proceedings also shone a light on the wider administrative scheme of sending assurance letters to on-the-runs.

In her review, Lady Justice Hallett outlined details of the two other cases where letters were sent in error:

:: The use of an incorrect date of birth to search a police database may have missed an offence potentially linked to an individual. An individual with the same name and same year of birth was wanted for a terrorist offence. It has not yet been established if this was the same individual who received the letter of assurance.

:: An individual who was wanted for an offence committed after the 1998 Good Friday peace accord was sent a letter with a general assurance they were not wanted. The origin of the mistake lay in the fact the police believed they were only searching for pre-1998 offences and therefore did not outline details of the 2003 offence when informing the Northern Ireland Office that the individual was “not wanted by the PSNI”.

more courts articles

Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother
Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van Man appears in court charged with false imprisonment of woman in van
Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman Man in court over alleged false imprisonment of woman

More in this section

National Risk Assessment for Ireland Tánaiste urges Israel ‘to show humanity’ and allow more aid into Gaza
Lego set based on RNLI lifeboat could soon become a reality Lego set based on RNLI lifeboat could soon become a reality
Travel Stock - Geneva - Switzerland UN human rights body calls for repeal or amendment of Troubles legacy laws
War_map
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited