Stormont case - Ruling ends claims of spying ring

In Belfast Crown Court yesterday, during a surprise and unscheduled hearing, charges were quietly dropped against three men arrested, over an alleged IRA spy ring at Stormont.

When the three were dramatically arrested in a police raid on Sinn Féin offices, three years ago, it was sufficient to result in a political row that led to the collapse of the Northern Executive.

Mr Justice Hart was informed that the DPP was offering no further evidence in the case, which saw the three charged, collectively, on seven counts of possessing and collecting information useful to terrorists.