Judges agree no intention by France to ‘try’ Bailey

Ian Bailey walked free from the Supreme Court yesterday after the five-judge court ruled he cannot be extradited to France in connection with the murder of filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier.

All five judges of the Supreme Court upheld Mr Bailey’s argument that his extradition should be refused on the ground there is no actual intention by the French authorities to “try” Mr Bailey at this stage. But Mr Bailey’s legal team yesterday indicated his side may now bring proceedings given the nature of newly disclosed material critical of the Garda investigation into the murder, particularly material alleging a senior garda or gardaí tried to put pressure on the state solicitor for West Cork to procure a prosecution of Mr Bailey.

Mr Bailey’s lawyers in the Supreme Court also secured costs against the State for both the High and Supreme Court extradition proceedings. The bill is likely to run to several million euro as Mr Bailey’s lawyers were also given the go-ahead to apply for costs at the highest scale.