Belfast murder trial witness 'may commit suicide'
Lawyers representing a key witness in the trial of the man accused of murdering Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane have said their client could commit suicide if he is forced to give evidence.
Lawyers for former journalist Neil Mulholland want the courts to set aside a summons demanding that their client attend court to reveal what he knows about the Finucane murder.
William Stobie, the man charged with the murder, has admitted supplying the gun used, but he has said he thought the intended target was a member of the Provisional IRA. Mr Mulholland interviewed Mr Stobie and later told British police that Stobie said he knew Mr Finucane was the intended target.
Mr Finucane was shot dead on front of his family in north Belfast in 1989.
Mr Stobie, a 51-year-old former UDA quartermaster and RUC informer, has claimed that he told the RUC about the impending attack, but they did nothing to prevent it.
However, he has since been charged with murder through aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring.
Mr Mulholland’s testimony is seen as crucial to securing a conviction against Stobie and the North’s Lord Chief Justice, Robert Carswell, will rule tomorrow whether the former journalist should be called to give evidence.
