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Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, alleging he was a member of the paramilitary group and liable for the attacks, have withdrawn their lawsuit on the final day of the civil trial at the High Court in London.
John Clark, Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock, injured in the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the 1996 London Docklands and Manchester bombings respectively, were seeking symbolic damages of £1 each. They claimed Adams was a member of the IRA and sat on its army council, allegations he has consistently denied.
On Friday, the ninth day of the trial, the claimants’ lawyer, Anne Studd KC, told the court the claim would be discontinued after “proceedings developed overnight”. She cited an argument relating to “abuse of process” before being stopped by Mr Justice Swift, who noted it was for the parties to make any statements outside court. Studd added that the claimants felt the proceedings were “affected by unfairness”.
Adams, who was absent from court, welcomed the end of the case. “This decision brings to an emphatic end to a case that should never have been brought,” he said, calling for renewed focus on the Good Friday Agreement. His lawyer, Edward Craven KC, argued the claim was an attempt to conduct a wide-ranging public inquiry into Adams’s alleged IRA involvement, with little evidence directly linking him to the three bombings.
Laycock expressed devastation but insisted the team had “achieved something that successive governments have failed to do”. The claimants’ solicitors, McCue Jury, said the case was discontinued due to the judge’s “extraordinary” invitation to hear submissions on abuse of process, which could have left their clients liable for Adams’s costs. They accepted an offer to “drop hands”, with each party bearing their own costs.
