A landmark civil trial has heard that Gerry Adams was 'directly responsible for and complicit in' IRA decisions to bomb England across almost a quarter of a century. The former Sinn Fein president is being sued by three victims of IRA bombings on the British mainland, who allege that Mr Adams was one of the key orchestrators of the terror attacks.
High Court Appearance and Trial Details
Mr Adams attended the High Court in London today for the first day of his trial, appearing to wear a protective vest. The claimants are seeking symbolic damages of just £1, with the trial examining Mr Adams' long-standing denial that he was ever a member of the IRA.
The court has heard that the claimants' focus is 'to prove on balance of probabilities that [Mr Adams] was so intrinsically involved in the Provisional IRA organisation that he is as culpable for the assaults giving rise to these claims as the individuals who planted and detonated the bombs.'
Evidence and Allegations Presented
Opening the claimants' case, Anne Studd KC stated that a former Army intelligence officer, who will give evidence this week, was privy to information that communicated 'both explicitly and implicitly' that Mr Adams was a senior member of the IRA's ruling Army Council and the 'de facto leader of the IRA.'
This trial marks the first time Mr Adams has been questioned over his alleged role in the IRA in an English courtroom. He has never been convicted of IRA membership and continues to deny any role in the Provisional IRA. Mr Adams, 77, appeared to attend court today in a protective vest and is vigorously defending the claims made against him.
Specific Claims and Historical Context
Mrs Studd added that the 'evidence of those who associated with him over the relevant time, and the structure of the [IRA]' will show Mr Adams was 'directly responsible for and complicit in the decisions made by that organisation to detonate bombs on the British mainland in 1973 and 1996.'
She continued: 'The Army Council set the strategy for the Provisional IRA through all the years of the Troubles. It did not really change in its basic information, which was that the defendant was an instrumental force in the organisation of the Provisional IRA and building of the two-strand attack - Armalite and the ballot box.'
Victims and Symbolic Damages
He is being sued for symbolic damages of £1 by John Clark, a victim of the IRA's Old Bailey attack in 1973; Jonathan Ganesh, who was injured in the 1996 attack at London's Docklands; and Barry Laycock, who was injured in the attack at Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre in the same year.
The High Court has been told that former IRA volunteer Dolours Price, who was jailed for her role in the Old Bailey bombing, named Mr Adams in 2010 as 'the person who had agreed that volunteers should be sent to the UK mainland to commence bombing, one of which was the bomb at the Old Bailey.'
Further Testimony and Defence Arguments
Peter Rogers, another former IRA volunteer, said that in 1980 he met with Mr Adams, who allegedly asked him about the moving of explosives to the British mainland. He had expressed surprise that Mr Adams had any knowledge of the operation if he was solely a member of Sinn Fein and not the IRA.
The court was also told that Mr Adams wrote for the Republican News newspaper – also known as An Phoblacht – under the pen name, 'Brownie'. One 'Brownie' article in 1976 included the line: 'Rightly or wrongly, I'm an I.R.A. Volunteer.' Mr Adams will say that this was actually written by his assistant and he did not pen all the articles under the pseudonym.
In written submissions, Edward Craven KC, representing Mr Adams, said: 'The defendant's alleged factual and legal responsibility for the claimants' injuries is strongly contested, as is the claimants' ability to bring these claims against the defendant several decades after the expiry of the applicable limitation period.' He added: 'The defendant strenuously denies any involvement in the bombings.'
Trial Conclusion and Demonstrations
The trial is expected to conclude next week. There were a number of demonstrators outside London's Royal Courts of Justice on Monday, the first day of Mr Adams' civil trial, highlighting the public interest and controversy surrounding the case.
