Gerry Adams was ‘as culpable as those who planted the bombs’, London High Court told
Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams appeared in London’s High Court on Monday in a civil case aimed at holding him accountable for the Irish Republican Army bombings in Britain, a case that could affect the prominent republican leader’s legacy.
Adams became leader of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, in 1983 and established himself as the face of the movement aimed at ending British rule in Northern Ireland.
He later reinvented himself as a peacemaker after helping secure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended the three decades of sectarian conflict known as the Troubles.
Adams has always denied being a member of the Provisional IRA (PIRA), but he has long faced accusations, including from members of the paramilitary group, that he was involved in the organisation’s murder campaign.
The 77-year-old man is currently being sued by those injured in three bombings: one at the Old Bailey court in London in 1973, the other in 1996 and two explosions targeting the British capital and Manchester.
The three plaintiffs are seeking nominal 1 pound ($1.33) in damages and a finding that, on the balance of probabilities, Adams was a senior member of the IRA during Northern Ireland’s three-decade sectarian conflict known as the Troubles.
Their lawyer Anne Studd said at the start of the hearing on Monday that Adams was “so involved in the PIRA organization that he is as culpable in the attacks as those who planted and detonated the bombs”.
But Adams’ lawyers argued in court documents that “there is no credible evidence to support plaintiffs’ claim that (Adams) was a senior member of the PIRA.”
Adams, who wore a Palestinian flag badge in court, is expected to testify later this week.
After helping the IRA and the province’s Roman Catholic minority get behind the Good Friday Agreement, Adams became a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and then the Irish parliament, and stood down as president of Sinn Fein in 2018.
