25/2/2014

Hyde Park IRA bombings: suspect will not be prosecuted after police blunder - Telegraph

Hyde Park IRA bombing: suspect will not be prosecuted after police blunder
John Downey told he will not be tried for 1982 Hyde Park outrage after police wrongly sent him a letter saying he was no longer wanted

John Downey, who will not face trial over the Hyde Park bombing after police wrongly sent him a letter saying he was no longer wanted Photo: Eddie Mulholland

By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor

4:50PM GMT 25 Feb 2014

An IRA terror suspect allegedly involved in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing will never face prosecution because of a catastrophic police blunder. John Downey, 62, has been wanted for more than 30 years for the murder of four members of the Household Cavalry after a nail bomb tore through a Changing of the Guard procession.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/10658936/Hyde-Park-IRA-bombings-suspect-will-not-be-prosecuted-after-police-blunder.html

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Hyde Park IRA bombings: suspect will not be prosecuted after police blunder - Telegraph

He was arrested at Gatwick airport last May while on his way to Greece and charged with the murders. But the prosecution has been thrown out by a senior judge after it emerged he was one of almost 200 suspected IRA terrorists who received a so-called comfort letter effectively protecting him from prosecution.

The assurances, agreed between Sinn Fein and the UK Government, were sent in the years after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, as part of the peace process, to suspects who had never been caught for their alleged activities. It was driven by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair who pledged to Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams that he would resolve the issue before he left office. But it emerged Downey has been sent his letter in error in 2007 because the Metropolitan Police still wanted him for the Hyde Park attack. The families of the four soldiers killed in the atrocity said their sacrifice had been betrayed by the monumental blunder and demanded an urgent review of who knew. A team within the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) responsible for checking if suspects were still wanted was aware of the outstanding warrant but failed to mention it in the days before the letter was sent.

The mistake was spotted a year later by another team but no action was taken.
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25/2/2014

Hyde Park IRA bombings: suspect will not be prosecuted after police blunder - Telegraph

Downey was charged with the bombing after prosecutors decided the letter sent to Downey did not amount to immunity or a promise not to prosecute historic offences. But lawyers for Mr Downey argued in a two week abuse of process hearing at the Old Bailey that it was unfair to prosecute him and that it would threaten a key agreement in the Northern Ireland peace settlement. Mr Justice Sweeney, who prosecuted several IRA cases during his career, agreed and threw out the prosecution, allowing the details of the case to be made public for the first time. He said there had been a catastrophic failure in the case, compounded by the fact nothing was down when the error was spotted.

In a scathing ruling, he said no sensible explanation for the various failures has been given. He concluded that the public interest in ensuring people accused of serious crime are tried was very significantly outweighed by the interests in ensuring that executive misconduct does not bring the criminal justice into disrepute and state officials are held to the promises they made. Hence I have concluded that this is one of those rare cases in which, in the particular circumstances, it offends the courts sense of justice and propriety to be asked to try the defendant, he said. The letter Downey was sent read: 'The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has been informed by the Attorney General that on the basis of information currently available there is no outstanding direction for prosecution in Northern Ireland, there are no warrants in existence, nor are you wanted in Northern Ireland and the police in Northern Ireland are not aware of any interest in you
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Hyde Park IRA bombings: suspect will not be prosecuted after police blunder - Telegraph

from any police force in the UK. If any other outstanding offence or offences come to light or any request for extradition were received this would have to be dealt with in the usual way. During two weeks of legal argument at the Old Bailey the prosecution blamed the PSNI for the mistake. But Downey's lawyers argued that the decision to charge him was an abuse of executive power which threatened the Good Friday Agreement because the issue of so-called on-the-runs was a key part of negotiations with Sinn Fein over IRA decommissioning. Henry Blaxland QC said: It not only brings the administration of criminal justice into disrepute it calls into question the state's commitment to the peace process. The breach of trust runs the very real risk of putting in jeopardy the years of painstaking confidence building which is intended to bring about the normalisation of society after many years of conflict. Four members of the Royal Household Cavalry, Blues and Royals, and seven horses were killed in the 1982 atrocity when a massive car bomb was detonated as they passed by. Lieutenant Anthony Daly, 23, Trooper Simon Tipper, 19, and Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young, 19, were killed outright and Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, 36, the standard bearer, died from his injuries four days later. In a statement, the families of the dead men said: This news has left us all feeling devastatingly let down, even more so when the monumental blunder behind this judgment lies at the feet of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Our men signed up to serve their country in good faith, yet now it seems that that faith was not supported by those within certain areas of authority. The families now seek a degree of accountability for this catastrophic failure.

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