Ex-IRA leader remanded amid witness intimidation fears

A former IRA leader in the Maze prison in the North was remanded in custody yesterday on charges linked to a police investigation into a murder outside a Belfast bar.

Padraic Wilson was accused of IRA membership and addressing a meeting encouraging support for the organisation.

A detective told Belfast Magistrates’ Court that Wilson, 53, took part in a meeting with the sisters of Robert McCartney, 33, who was stabbed to death outside the pub in 2005.