UK lawsuit against Adams over IRA bombings withdrawn
Three men suing former Irish republican leader Gerry Adams over three Irish Republican Army bomb attacks in the UK have withdrawn their cases, their lawyers have told London’s High Court.
Adams, who became leader of Sinn Fein when it was the political wing of the IRA in 1983, was for many years the most well-known 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 three decades of sectarian conflict known as the Troubles in which some 3,600 people were killed.
But Adams had long faced accusations that he was a member of the Provisional IRA, including from former members of the paramilitary group, which he had always denied.
Adams told the Supreme Court this week that he was “never involved” in the IRA but believed “people had the right to resist occupation”.
“I’m happy there’s a peace process but I’m not walking away from the IRA,” the 77-year-old said in the witness box on Tuesday, which was also St Patrick’s Day.
The three claimants, who were injured in three IRA bombings in the 1970s and 1990s, were seeking a finding on the balance of probabilities that Adams, as a senior member of the IRA, was personally responsible for the bombings.
But after the civil trial, in which Adams testified for two days, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Anne Studd, said “the trial will be stayed” on Friday, the last day of the two-week trial.
He said the allegation would be withdrawn after “the proceedings developed overnight”.
Studd said the development was related to the “abuse of process” discussion, but was later stopped by the judge: “Any statements your clients may want to make outside of court are a matter entirely their business.”
“I am happy to make an order on terms agreed to by the parties,” he continued.
Studd later said: “The plaintiffs’ position is that these proceedings were affected by injustice.”
The conclusion of the case means the Supreme Court will not rule on whether Adams was responsible for the bombings or whether he was a member of the IRA.
Adams, 77, who testified at the hearing but was not in court Friday, issued a statement immediately after the case was dismissed, welcoming the plaintiffs’ decision.
“I joined the civil suit out of respect for them,” he said in a statement.
“This decision puts a definitive end to a case that should never have been filed.”
with AP and PA
