IRA victims ‘devastated’ as Gerry Adams trial collapses amid chaos: Lawyers blame an ‘extraordinary’ series of events as case is pulled at last minute
Victims of IRA atrocities were left devastated after the landmark civil case against Gerry Adams collapsed at the 11th hour on Friday.
Three survivors of IRA bombings in England have dramatically withdrawn their cases after two weeks of evidence revealed they could be liable to pay up to £500,000 in Adams’ legal fees.
And in a brazen move yesterday, former Sinn Fein president Adams, 77, held a press conference in front of a mural of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in Belfast.
Adams claimed the civil case, which aims to prove he was ‘directly responsible’ for three bomb attacks between 1973 and 1996 due to his senior role in the IRA, was ‘heading towards a bench trial’. Evidence was heard from 11 witnesses for the plaintiffs, including former Army and police intelligence officers and a former IRA member; all of these witnesses named Adams as a leading figure in the Provisional IRA over the last 50 years. The court heard he was the ‘de facto leader’.
Adams has always denied IRA membership and his legal team said any evidence linking him to those bombings was ‘borderline on extinction’.
Adams said: ‘I was never a member of the IRA or the Army Council. ‘I have never held a ‘command and control role’ in the IRA and I have never been a senior person, let alone the most senior person, in the IRA.’
Edward Craven KC also questioned the time it took for allegations to be made – more than 50 years in one case – and said it was ‘truly unprecedented’.
He argued that the case could be considered an abuse of process because the plaintiffs wanted to “conduct a prolonged, wide-ranging public inquiry-style review.” [Adams’] ‘alleged membership of the IRA… over a period of decades.’
Challenger: Gerry Adams speaks in front of a mural of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands in Belfast on Friday. He is joined by (left to right) Deirdre Hargey, Paul Maskey, Aisling Reilly and Pat Sheehan (see panel at bottom of story)
The costs protection order imposed early in the four-year case, which protected the plaintiffs from paying Adams’ legal costs regardless of the outcome, would be at risk if Judge Jonathan Swift deemed the claim an abuse of process.
The plaintiffs’ legal team said Adams then offered to settle the case ‘hands off’. This means both parties walk away and pay their own legal costs.
Yesterday, on the last scheduled day of the hearing before the judge, Anne Studd KC, for the claimants, said that following arguments the claim had been ‘discontinued’ ‘without any decision on costs’.
A statement issued by solicitors McCue, Jury and Partners on behalf of IRA survivors said: ‘This outcome is not a decision for the plaintiffs.
‘Due to an extraordinary sequence of events and faced with a small risk of life-altering financial consequences, the plaintiffs had no realistic option but to accept the defendant’s offer. The plaintiffs feel this is deeply unfair.’
He added: ‘Mr Adams appeared before a British court for the first time and was forced to give evidence and be cross-examined regarding his alleged role.
‘A significant amount of evidence regarding his alleged involvement in the IRA is now on the public record. This material has been widely reported on, and even if the court does not do so now, it will be open to judgment in terms of history.’
Adams was sued for £1 damages by John Clark, a victim of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing in London; 1996 London Docklands bombing victim Jonathan Ganesh; and Barry Laycock, victim of the Arndale bombing in Manchester in 1996. Mr Laycock, 86, said he was ‘completely devastated’.
Three victims of Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb attacks in England on Friday have settled their compensation claims against former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams (pictured)
‘The fair trial we sought (Mr Adams’ first appearance in court) was achieved,’ he said. ‘But somehow we lost our guard. How is this fair?’
Mr Ganesh said: ‘This is not a victory for Mr Adams. He blinked at first, offering a compromise when our cost protection was threatened. We had to withdraw because we were financially inadequate.’
IRA victims also reacted angrily. Mark Tipper, whose brother Constable Simon Tipper was killed in the Hyde Park bombing in 1982, said: ‘I sympathize with everyone who has been denied justice. Scores of IRA terrorists got away with murder but our army was persecuted through the courts.
‘There are many people who have given evidence who say he was an IRA leader but he continues to deny this. Adams is far from the peace-loving angel he says he is. ‘This is another blow in the teeth for those who served in Northern Ireland.’
Kenny Donaldson MBE, of the South East Fermanagh Foundation, which supports victims of terrorism in Northern Ireland, said: ‘Mr Adams understandably spins this case as confirmation of his denials, which have continued for fifty years and more, but the truth is: the jury is still largely out on his alleged link to terrorism during the Troubles.’
The plaintiffs raised £120,000 through crowdfunding to fund their case. Adams said he was ‘supported by friends’ in covering his own legal costs and would not seek any costs from the plaintiffs.
In Belfast, where someone shouted ‘f******’ at least twice, Adams said the case was ‘at times heading towards a show trial’ but he had ‘nothing but sympathy’ for the plaintiffs.
‘I was moved by the testimony of two individuals, two men, who came forward and described their own personal difficulties and circumstances during and after the explosions,’ he said. Mr Clark was too ill to give evidence.’
