Supreme Court to give reasons for re-arrest of Mr A

The Supreme Court is due to give detailed reasons today for ordering the re-arrest of the sex offender known as Mr A during the statutory rape controversy.

The striking down of part of the Criminal Law Act in May led to the man's release and sparked a political crisis.

Mr A was re-arrested on the orders of the Supreme Court after the Government rushed through emergency legislation in order to plug the legal loophole.

The 41-year-old was serving time for the statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl but was released by the High Court after the law on statutory rape was struck down by the Supreme Court.

It said the law was flawed because it did not allow for a genuine mistake being made about the victim's age.

The Supreme Court said the man's claim that that he was entitled to be released was not well founded and he was re-arrested when the Supreme Court ruled at the beginning of last month that the man had not argued he was mistaken as to the age of the girl he was convicted of raping.