Loyalist killer must hand himself in for return to prison, court told
A convicted loyalist killer must hand himself in for a return to prison in a week’s time, the Court of Appeal ordered today.
Senior judges directed Robert Clarke, 74, to attend a police station in Belfast after he failed in a legal battle to avoid being sent back to jail.
The outcome follows a ruling that he was wrongly granted early release on a sentence for the February 1973 murder of Catholic chip shop owner Alfredo Fusco.
Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan ordered: “The return to custody should be within seven days. It will be to attend Musgrave Police Station at 10am on April 23 for a return to Maghaberry Prison.”
However, Clarke has now launched fresh judicial review challenges in a bid to minimise any time spent behind bars while seeking re-release through a Sentence Review Commission (SRC) process.
In 2011 he received a minimum 25-year prison term after being found guilty of murdering Mr Fusco. He served just two years behind bars before being freed on licence under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Fusco, 53, was shot dead when two gunmen entered his cafe in the York Road area of north Belfast in February 1973. One of the intruders chased the victim to a storage area and opened fire as he attempted to barricade himself behind a door.
Clarke, formerly of Dundrod Road, Nutts Corner, was convicted of the killing based on new fingerprint technology used to identify his prints at the scene.
By that stage he had already served a 15-year term in jail for a separate sectarian murder. North Belfast woman Margaret O'Neill, 58, was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in June 1975.
The 25-year tariff imposed on Clarke’s life sentence for murdering Mr Fusco does not expire until February 2036.
But the double killer was freed in 2013 after the SRC originally declared him eligible for early release within provisions of the Northern Ireland Sentences Act 1998.
The Secretary of State successfully challenged that decision, arguing Clarke did not qualify for the scheme covering a defined period of terrorist-related crimes.
The murder of Mr Fusco was committed six months before the relevant emergency legislation for scheduled offences came into force.
A High Court judge identified an error in law in the Commissioners’ first decision.
He found that Clarke had been wrongly at liberty for years and stressed the compelling need to serve sentences and ensure retribution for “heinous” crimes.
Lawyers representing the convicted murderer claimed amendments in the new Troubles Legacy legislation mean he will inevitably be released again.
They appealed against both the decision to quash his release under the 1998 Act and the SRC’s subsequent refusal in 2024 of his fresh application to be freed.
Last month the Court of Appeal rejected all grounds of challenge, finding that Clarke had been wrongly freed and was “unlawfully at large”.
Since then he has lodged further challenges against the Secretary of State for not granting release under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy, and the SRC over an alleged refusal to ensure a fresh application is dealt with immediately.
But proceedings returned to the Court of Appeal today to finalise the outcome in that case.
Clarke’s barrister, Ronan Lavery KC, requested a further four weeks to progress his latest legal bids to avoid extended imprisonment.
Counsel for the Secretary of State, Tony McGleenan KC, insisted however that he should be directed to return to custody this month.
Backing those submissions, the Lady Chief Justice confirmed the warrant for committal to prison in seven days.
She added; “The judicial reviews can take their own course, applications can be made by Mr Clarke accordingly.”