McIlveen sentences may be appealed

Jail terms handed down for the sectarian murder of a man in the North may be appealed against for being too lenient, it was disclosed today.

Britain's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Alasdair Fraser has asked Attorney-General Baroness Scotland to consider if the sentences following the Michael McIlveen trial could be increased.

Four men were given life sentences for beating the teenager, from Ballymena, Co Antrim, to death in May 2006. The minimum terms ranged from 10 to 13 years and the McIlveen family said this was not enough.

A spokeswoman for the Public Prosecution Service said: “I can confirm that the DPP has referred the sentencing in relation to the murder of Mr McIlveen to the Attorney General.”

The Attorney General will consider whether the case should be referred to the Court of Appeal on the basis that the sentences were unduly lenient.