OMAGH BOMB DUO DENIED PERMISSION TO APPEAL
Omagh bomb duo denied permission to appeal
TWO men held responsible for the Omagh bombing have been denied permission to appeal to the Supreme Court in London.
Jailed Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt and fellow dissident republican Liam Campbell were denied leave to appeal by senior judges on Friday. Judges also rejected an application by Seamus Daly who is now facing a civil retrial over the atrocity.
Applications by victims' relatives were also denied. The relatives, who brought the landmark action, also want to go before the Supreme Court in an attempt to win the more punitive exemplary damages.
Lawyers for the defendants and plaintiffs are all now set to petition the Supreme Court directly in a bid to have their arguments heard.
Earlier this year both McKevitt and Campbell lost their challenges against being found responsible for the atrocity which killed 29 people.
McKevitt, a convicted Real IRA leader serving a 20-year jail sentence; Campbell, a farmer from County Louth currently fighting extradition to Lithuania over an alleged arms smuggling plot; Colm Murphy, a Dundalk-based builder and publican; and Mr Daly, from Culaville, County Monaghan, were all held liable for the bombing in a civil ruling delivered in June 2009.
Mr Justice Morgan, now Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice, ordered them to pay �1.6m in compensation.
In July this year appeals by Murphy and Daly against the verdict were upheld. Both men were ordered to face civil retrials.
Daly's legal team are seeking to challenge that outcome, claiming it would be unfair for him to have to defend the allegations all over again.
Alongside that, they are seeking a ruling that Campbell should be sued as an alleged representative of the Real IRA.
A third strand to their case is that convictions outside Northern Ireland, including McKevitt's in Dublin for directing terrorism, should be admissible in the action.
Applications were submitted to the Court of Appeal in Belfast for certificates to be granted on points of law of general public importance.
Lord Justice Higgins said, "We see no reason in this case to depart from the usual practice to refuse leave and leave it to the Supreme Court to consider whether they wish to entertain any of the points set out in applications before this court."
TWO men held responsible for the Omagh bombing have been denied permission to appeal to the Supreme Court in London.
Jailed Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt and fellow dissident republican Liam Campbell were denied leave to appeal by senior judges on Friday. Judges also rejected an application by Seamus Daly who is now facing a civil retrial over the atrocity.
Applications by victims' relatives were also denied. The relatives, who brought the landmark action, also want to go before the Supreme Court in an attempt to win the more punitive exemplary damages.
Lawyers for the defendants and plaintiffs are all now set to petition the Supreme Court directly in a bid to have their arguments heard.
Earlier this year both McKevitt and Campbell lost their challenges against being found responsible for the atrocity which killed 29 people.
McKevitt, a convicted Real IRA leader serving a 20-year jail sentence; Campbell, a farmer from County Louth currently fighting extradition to Lithuania over an alleged arms smuggling plot; Colm Murphy, a Dundalk-based builder and publican; and Mr Daly, from Culaville, County Monaghan, were all held liable for the bombing in a civil ruling delivered in June 2009.
Mr Justice Morgan, now Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice, ordered them to pay �1.6m in compensation.
In July this year appeals by Murphy and Daly against the verdict were upheld. Both men were ordered to face civil retrials.
Daly's legal team are seeking to challenge that outcome, claiming it would be unfair for him to have to defend the allegations all over again.
Alongside that, they are seeking a ruling that Campbell should be sued as an alleged representative of the Real IRA.
A third strand to their case is that convictions outside Northern Ireland, including McKevitt's in Dublin for directing terrorism, should be admissible in the action.
Applications were submitted to the Court of Appeal in Belfast for certificates to be granted on points of law of general public importance.
Lord Justice Higgins said, "We see no reason in this case to depart from the usual practice to refuse leave and leave it to the Supreme Court to consider whether they wish to entertain any of the points set out in applications before this court."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE HERALD
Ref: TYH/113
Published Date: 05-Dec-11
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