Court clears former Bailey friend

BAD blood allegedly existed between murder suspect Ian Bailey and a former friend who gave evidence in a libel trial against the English-born freelance journalist nearly two years ago, a district court heard yesterday.

A judge ruled yesterday that two-finger gestures made by defendant Billy Fuller towards Bailey, at a street market in Schull, Co Cork, earlier this year, was vulgar abuse but was at the lower scale of offences under the Public Order Act.

Bailey stated that he saw Fuller mouth “f**k off” twice as he made the V-sign gestures, but the defendant told Schull District Court that Bailey had looked at him with a “menacing” stare.