Kidnap charge man 'was acting as go-between'

A man accused of kidnapping a teenage traveller and demanding a £100,000 ransom was acting as a go-between to ensure his safe release, a court heard today.

Stephen Dempsey, 40, was among three men charged with snatching 16-year-old Charles Doherty from Mallusk caravan site on the outskirts of Belfast and blackmailing his family.