Lastest fallout from Sinn Fein MLA's libel flop: 'Gerry Kelly opposed the Troubles amnesty - but could now be set to benefit from it'

Mr Kelly had taken a court case against Malachi O’Doherty, a journalist with anti-IRA views who has decades of experience writing about the violence and politics of the Troubles.

He argued that Dr O’Doherty had damaged his reputation by repeating the well-worn claim that Mr Kelly was the gunman behind the shooting of warden John Adams during the IRA's 1983 Maze prison uprising.

But Mr Kelly’s court action backfired spectacularly; the judge combed through his own memoirs about the event, in which Mr Kelly made clear his intimate involvement in the uprising.

Though Mr Kelly had been acquitted in 1988 of the shooting of the warden, his later memoirs left it ambiguous as to whether it truly was him or fellow convict Bobby Storey who pulled the trigger.

The reason Mr Kelly had been in the Maze in the first place was because he was caught in 1973 as part of an IRA team which was blowing up civilian targets in London.

Since Mr Kelly provided no evidence of a “renunciation” of his paramilitary past (and in fact spoke of his pride in his IRA activities), on Monday the judge said that a “right-thinking person” would have to conclude that Mr Kelly's reputation was “bad” back then, and is “still bad” today.

He therefore binned the case, leaving Mr Kelly with the costs.

Master Bell said although he “has not explicitly admitted pulling the trigger, the content of his books appears to make Mr Kelly civilly liable, on the balance of probabilities, for the shooting of Mr Adams”.

However, the judge also went on to note that the new Troubles amnesty law - officially called the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 - means that any such civil action against Mr Kelly is now “prima facie prohibited”.

Master Bell likewise said that since the bar on ‘double jeopardy’ trials was axed in 2003, if a “criminal memoir contains material which amounts to new and compelling evidence against [the author], he may expose himself to re-prosecution for that offence”.

However, the amnesty act also offers the prospect of criminal immunity to perpetrators of Troubles crimes.

Mr Donaldson, director of the pressure group the South East Fermanagh Foundation, said: “The irony following the judgement is this: the new Legacy and Reconciliation Act, if implemented as currently enacted, could be the saving grace for Mr Kelly in potentially facing civil claims and / or criminal based prosecution.

"How warped would it be for someone who claims to stand so strongly against this particular piece of legislation to be the net and contented beneficiary of its existence, providing protection against being held accountable for alleged actions and activities?”

He added: “The game is up for hypocrisy, we need to move forward on the basis that all who contributed to the harms experienced within this society demonstrate a willingness to be held accountable for their actions (and also inactions).

"Those who do not have the humility and capacity to do so need to remove themselves from leadership roles where they are spouting the need for others to do what they themselves refuse to do.”

He repeated a call, made by TUV leader Jim Allister a day earlier, for Mr Kelly to reconsider his position on the Policing Board.

If Mr Kelly were indeed to benefit from the amnesty act, it would be the second time the UK authorities had granted him a de facto free pass, because he is already the recipient of a Royal Pardon for his 1973 crimes.

Sinn Fein and Mr Kelly have been invited to comment.

Meanwhile today, speaking to reporters outside Belfast City Hall, Sinn Fein regional leader Michelle O’Neill said: “Any of us – whether you’d be in public office or a citizen of our society – everyone’s entitled to defend their good name.

“If you feel like you’ve been defamed at any time, then you are entitled, as the law says, to take a case.

“I commend that to anyone who feels that that’s where they need to be.

“In terms of any concerted effort or deliberate attempt on our part – I’m Sinn Fein vice president, I’m a senior member of a party, and I can assure you there is no joined-up or concerted effort to silence anybody.”