Seized banker denies knowing keyholder rota

The banker seized and forced to enable the £26.5m (€33.3m) Northern Bank robbery while his wife was held hostage clashed with defence counsel today at the trial of the colleague charged with the robbery.

Kevin McMullan has insisted throughout he did not know the accused - Chris Ward - was the second keyholder to the vault for the late shift on Monday December 20 2004 prior to Ward being delivered to his home by a kidnap gang the night before.

Mr McMullan left work early on the Friday before what was to become the biggest bank robbery in British banking history so he could collect a Christmas present for his wife from a shop.

The assistant manager has told the trial at Belfast Crown Court he had not seen the completed rota of keyholders for the following week before leaving - knowing only that he was the senior keyholder for the Monday late shift.

Ward, a former supervisor in the Northern Bank Cash Centre, denies involvement in the robbery and two charges of abducting Mr McMullan and his wife Kyran.

The 26-year-old from Colinmill, Poleglass, on the outskirts of West Belfast is claimed by the prosecution to have been the 'inside man' for the robbery.

During a fourth day in the witness box Mr McMullan was repeatedly pressed by defence council Arthur Harvey, QC, on what he did or did not know when he left work for the weekend.

Mr McMullan went through 15 interviews and made 13 statements to police after the ordeal he and his wife went through, said Mr Harvey.

The lawyer said: "In all of your interviews you never once mentioned to police that you did not know who you would be sharing the late shift with.

"I can find nowhere in the evidence that I have been provided with where you ever said you were not aware when you left on December 17 2004."

Mr McMullan said: "That has always been my assertion."

He added: "I don't remember being asked that question. My evidence has been , as it was the other day, that when I was at home I didn't know who was coming to join me because I didn't know who was on the late shift with me."

Mr Harvey spent nearly two hours taking Mr McMullan through DVD clips from security cameras at the Cash Centre in the basement of the Northern Bank HQ in Belfast's Donegall Square.

The QC said they appeared to show Ward walking around the departments in the centre carrying a piece of paper and having discussions with members of staff - the last being Mr McMullan himself and it was likely to have been discussion on a draft rota.

The film showed Ward using his computer after the conversations, printing out a piece of paper and fixing it to the inside of the door to the centre after removing another sheet of paper from the door.

He said it was a "fair inference" that it was the new rota which he had put up on the door at 2.54pm on the Friday.

Soon afterwards Mr McMullan was seen standing by the door right in front of the notice talking to someone for four minutes before opening the door and leaving work.

The trial was adjourned until Monday.