Three victims of IRA bombings who sued former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, alleging he was a member of the paramilitary group and liable for the attacks, have withdrawn their lawsuit on the last day of the civil trial at the High Court in London.
John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock, injured respectively in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the 1996 London Docklands and Manchester bombings, were seeking symbolic 'vindicatory' damages of £1 each. They alleged Adams was a member of the IRA and sat on its army council, which he denied.
On Friday, the claimants' lawyer, Anne Studd KC, told the court the claim would be discontinued after 'proceedings developed overnight'. Adams, who was not in court, welcomed the end of the case, calling it 'an emphatic end to a case that should never have been brought'. He reiterated his denial of the allegations and called for a renewed focus on the Good Friday agreement.
The claimants' solicitors, McCue Jury, said they discontinued the case due to the judge's decision to invite submissions on whether the case constituted an 'abuse of process', which could have led to the claimants being liable for Adams's costs. They accepted an offer from Adams to 'drop hands', meaning each party bears its own costs.
Barry Laycock said he was 'completely devastated' but added the team had 'achieved something that successive governments have failed to do'. Adams's lawyer, Edward Craven KC, had argued the claim was brought to compel a 'public-inquiry-style examination' of Adams's alleged IRA involvement, with little evidence directly linking the bombings to him.
