MINISERS TOLD OF BLUNDER LAW
Ministers told of blunder law
By BILLY KENNEDY
TWO senior Government Ministers are blamed for the blunder in not proscribing the Real IRA terrorist group which carried out the Omagh bombing massacre on August 15,1998.
Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer and Health Secretary Charles Clarke - two of Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest Cabinet colleagues - have been accused of "outrageous incompetence".
Last week, a Belfast Crown Court judge dismissed charges of Real IRA membership against three men because of a loophole in the law which meant that the terrorist organisation was not illegal.
The Government plans to appeal the judgment but the charges could be dropped against the three men if the law is not changed before their trial.
The court ruling outraged families of the 29 people murdered at Omagh. Secretary of State Paul Murphy and Attorney General Lord Goldsmith gave a pledge on the appeal.
Mr Murphy claimed that, when the law was drawn up, no-one warned the Government that a blanket ban on the IRA might not include the Real IRA.
"The term 'IRA' was an umbrella for all of the different groups in the Irish Republican Army", said Mr Murphy.
"It was felt then, it certainly wasn't challenged then, that it covered the Real IRA".
This, however, is strongly disputed with confirmation that the Government was twice warned that, by omitting the Real IRA from the Terrorism Act 2000, its member would get off. On both occasions, the warnings were dismissed by Government Ministers.
In a Lords debate on the Terrorism Bill in June, 2002, several peers told Lord Falconer, who at that was a Home Office Minister, that, by failing to spell out that Schedule 2 of the Bill specifically meant that the ban covered the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and the Irish Liberation Army, the Government was making a terrible mistake.
Lord Glentoran, Ulster-based Conservative peer, said: "According to my reckoning, the Real IRA is not currently on Schedule 2. There is no room for confusion."
He was supported by Tory chief whip in the Lords and former Northern Ireland Minister Lord John Cope, who said it was essential to refer to the Real IRA by name in the Bill to avoid any doubt that it was illegal.
These warnings were repeatedly dismissed by Lord Falconer, who stated categorically that there was no need to include the Real IRA.
Lord Falconer said: "The question here is what does that rubric cover? It covers the Real IRA, Provisional IRA and the Continuity IRA. The issue is whether they are part of an organisation that properly falls within the rubric of the Irish Republican Army? The answer is they would be".
On the strength of the pledge, Tory peers dropped attempts to include the Real IRA in the Bill.
Six months earlier, Charles Clarke, then Home Office Minister, made a similar pledge to Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis.
He said: "I can tell you that the Real IRA is proscribed by the general proscription of the Irish Republican Army in Schedule 2".
Lord Falconer has refused to admit that he got it wrong, while confirming that an appeal had been lodged against the judge's ruling.
Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland David Lidington said: "This is outrageous incompetence and complacency. Victims of the Real IRA, including families of those killed in the Omagh bomb, will be appalled that the Government dismissed our fears, about letting off the Real IRA, as groundless."
By BILLY KENNEDY
TWO senior Government Ministers are blamed for the blunder in not proscribing the Real IRA terrorist group which carried out the Omagh bombing massacre on August 15,1998.
Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer and Health Secretary Charles Clarke - two of Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest Cabinet colleagues - have been accused of "outrageous incompetence".
Last week, a Belfast Crown Court judge dismissed charges of Real IRA membership against three men because of a loophole in the law which meant that the terrorist organisation was not illegal.
The Government plans to appeal the judgment but the charges could be dropped against the three men if the law is not changed before their trial.
The court ruling outraged families of the 29 people murdered at Omagh. Secretary of State Paul Murphy and Attorney General Lord Goldsmith gave a pledge on the appeal.
Mr Murphy claimed that, when the law was drawn up, no-one warned the Government that a blanket ban on the IRA might not include the Real IRA.
"The term 'IRA' was an umbrella for all of the different groups in the Irish Republican Army", said Mr Murphy.
"It was felt then, it certainly wasn't challenged then, that it covered the Real IRA".
This, however, is strongly disputed with confirmation that the Government was twice warned that, by omitting the Real IRA from the Terrorism Act 2000, its member would get off. On both occasions, the warnings were dismissed by Government Ministers.
In a Lords debate on the Terrorism Bill in June, 2002, several peers told Lord Falconer, who at that was a Home Office Minister, that, by failing to spell out that Schedule 2 of the Bill specifically meant that the ban covered the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and the Irish Liberation Army, the Government was making a terrible mistake.
Lord Glentoran, Ulster-based Conservative peer, said: "According to my reckoning, the Real IRA is not currently on Schedule 2. There is no room for confusion."
He was supported by Tory chief whip in the Lords and former Northern Ireland Minister Lord John Cope, who said it was essential to refer to the Real IRA by name in the Bill to avoid any doubt that it was illegal.
These warnings were repeatedly dismissed by Lord Falconer, who stated categorically that there was no need to include the Real IRA.
Lord Falconer said: "The question here is what does that rubric cover? It covers the Real IRA, Provisional IRA and the Continuity IRA. The issue is whether they are part of an organisation that properly falls within the rubric of the Irish Republican Army? The answer is they would be".
On the strength of the pledge, Tory peers dropped attempts to include the Real IRA in the Bill.
Six months earlier, Charles Clarke, then Home Office Minister, made a similar pledge to Ulster Unionist MP Ken Maginnis.
He said: "I can tell you that the Real IRA is proscribed by the general proscription of the Irish Republican Army in Schedule 2".
Lord Falconer has refused to admit that he got it wrong, while confirming that an appeal had been lodged against the judge's ruling.
Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland David Lidington said: "This is outrageous incompetence and complacency. Victims of the Real IRA, including families of those killed in the Omagh bomb, will be appalled that the Government dismissed our fears, about letting off the Real IRA, as groundless."
Further Information
Publisher: NEWS LETTER
Ref: NL/509
Published Date: 31-May-04
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