Gerry Adams 'bears prize and burden of being last IRA leader', former volunteer tells court

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London. 

Gerry Adams "bears both the prize and the burden of being the last prominent Provisional IRA leader", a former volunteer has told the High Court.

Shane Paul O'Doherty, who was jailed for 14 years over an IRA letter bomb campaign in London in the 1970s, gave evidence in the civil trial brought against the former Sinn Féin president to say he was a leading member of the Provisional IRA.

The case has been brought by victims of three bombings in England: Jonathan Ganesh, who was injured in the 1996 London Docklands bombing; John Clark, a victim of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing in London; and Barry Laycock, a victim of the 1996 Arndale shopping centre bombing in Manchester.

The three men allege that Mr Adams was a leading member of the Provisional IRA on those dates, including of its Army Council, and are seeking £1 in damages.

Mr Adams denies ever being in the Provisional IRA and is defending the claim.

In his witness statement for the trial, Mr O'Doherty said: "All PIRA volunteers who joined the PIRA in the early 1970s and thereafter were instructed to lie to everyone about their PIRA membership - this meant lying to their families, whether to their parents or to their wives and children."

He added: "No-one took this PIRA policy to lying to such an absurd extreme as Adams."

Mr O'Doherty, who has been publicly critical of the IRA following his prison sentence, also described Mr Adams as "suffering from the 'last man standing' syndrome".

He said: "By this I mean that since so many prominent PIRA leaders are now dead, he alone bears both the prize and the burden of being the last prominent PIRA leader to bear witness to the PIRA's long and horrible campaign of terrorism including some of its worst atrocities dating from the early 1970s."

Cross-examining, Edward Craven KC, for Mr Adams, said: "You have never met Mr Adams, you have never spoken to him or been to a meeting with him.

"Yesterday was the first time in your life you have ever been in the same room as him."

Mr O'Doherty said: "I have never personally met him, I would very much have liked to meet him and have discussions."

He said later: "I have never spoken to King Charles but I know he's the king."

Also giving evidence was Colonel Richard Kemp, who served with the British Army in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s.

He also worked for a time as an intelligence officer and he told the court that he had seen information showing Mr Adams to be in the IRA.

Cross-examining, James Robottom said: "You cannot tell this court how reliable that intelligence was."

Col Kemp said: "I cannot give very specific intelligence reports for reasons that you will understand and my memory, but I do know I saw intelligence and was briefed on intelligence for a period of around 20 years, which made it clear that Mr Adams was in the IRA.

"I think it is inconceivable that intelligence that was not correct would have been reported over that period of time."

He added: "I don't remember a piece of evidence indicating Mr Adams was in the IRA being withdrawn."

The trial, before Mr Justice Swift, is due to conclude later in March.