UH/1787

Dissident chief fails to convince judge

THE dissident IRA chief believed to have been behind the Omagh bomb has failed to convince a High Court judge that he was being denied a fair hearing because of his failure to secure legal aid.
McKevitt, who has already been jailed for 20 years by a Special Court in Dublin, is now facing a Belfast High Court civil action by some of the Omagh families.
The court heard that legal aid was denied when it emerged that McKevitt had not disclosed a capital sum of £23,000.
Before his arrest McKevitt was a businessman based in Blackrock, Dundalk.
A judicial review into the decision to deny McKevitt legal aid is to be heard in the coming weeks and High Court judge Justice Morgan said he could not make a ruling until all the issues had been put before him.
McKevitt (54) is one of five men being sued in a £10m compensation claim by some of the relatives of the 31 people killed in the 1998 bombing.
The others named in the action are Colm Murphy and Seamus McKenna, both of Silverbridge, Co Armagh, Liam Campbell from Dundalk, and Seamus Daly of Castleblayney.