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08/10/2002
Third person appears in court over IRA intelligence gathering
A 44-year-old Belfast man has been remanded in custody until October 14 after appearing in court today facing two charges of having information which could be useful to terrorists.
William Mackessy appeared in Belfast Magistrate's court today and is the third person to be charged by police in connection to the raid on Sinn Fein's Stormont office on Friday. That search, and subsequent searches in offices in north and west Belfast, was part of investigations by police into IRA intelligence gathering.
Magistrates were told the alleged offences took place between April 2000, and his arrest last Friday. The accused worked as a porter at Castle Buildings in Stormont between April and September 2001.
Mr Mackessy's court appearance follows the arrests of Denis Donaldson, Sinn Fein's head of administration at Stormont, and Fiona Farrelly, a 46-year-old caterer from west Belfast. Both were charged on Sunday evening.
Mr Donaldson was charged with five counts of having information likely to be of use to terrorists. It was allegedly in court that files recovered contained personal details of members of the security forces, including those of the general officer commanding the armed forces in Northern Ireland, Lieutenant-General Alistair Irwin.
Documents also recovered during the raids are alleged to hold the details of known loyalists, of one serving police officer and a detailed sketch of Castle Buildings – the home of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), which contains the office of the Secretary of State.
However, police handling of the raids have been criticised by many including Sinn Fein who described the raids as "heavy handed".
During the raid on Friday around 20 PSNI officers arrived at the Sinn Féin Stormont office as they conducted anti-terrorism investigations. However, it was claimed that only one desk was checked by investigators and two computer disks were confiscated.
PSNI Chief Constable, Hugh Orde, said that he had reviewed footage of the raid and that, with hindsight, the raid should have been conducted differently. Mr Orde conceded that there had been an "error of judgement" on how the raid had been carried out.
The Chairman of the Policing Board, Professor Desmond Rea, today welcomed the Chief Constable’s apology.
“It takes true professionalism and real strength of character to admit when mistakes are made and to do so publicly," he said.
"The Chief Constable has stated that while the raid at Stormont was necessary it could have been done in a more sensitive and appropriate style – I welcome his openness and honesty."
(MB)
William Mackessy appeared in Belfast Magistrate's court today and is the third person to be charged by police in connection to the raid on Sinn Fein's Stormont office on Friday. That search, and subsequent searches in offices in north and west Belfast, was part of investigations by police into IRA intelligence gathering.
Magistrates were told the alleged offences took place between April 2000, and his arrest last Friday. The accused worked as a porter at Castle Buildings in Stormont between April and September 2001.
Mr Mackessy's court appearance follows the arrests of Denis Donaldson, Sinn Fein's head of administration at Stormont, and Fiona Farrelly, a 46-year-old caterer from west Belfast. Both were charged on Sunday evening.
Mr Donaldson was charged with five counts of having information likely to be of use to terrorists. It was allegedly in court that files recovered contained personal details of members of the security forces, including those of the general officer commanding the armed forces in Northern Ireland, Lieutenant-General Alistair Irwin.
Documents also recovered during the raids are alleged to hold the details of known loyalists, of one serving police officer and a detailed sketch of Castle Buildings – the home of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), which contains the office of the Secretary of State.
However, police handling of the raids have been criticised by many including Sinn Fein who described the raids as "heavy handed".
During the raid on Friday around 20 PSNI officers arrived at the Sinn Féin Stormont office as they conducted anti-terrorism investigations. However, it was claimed that only one desk was checked by investigators and two computer disks were confiscated.
PSNI Chief Constable, Hugh Orde, said that he had reviewed footage of the raid and that, with hindsight, the raid should have been conducted differently. Mr Orde conceded that there had been an "error of judgement" on how the raid had been carried out.
The Chairman of the Policing Board, Professor Desmond Rea, today welcomed the Chief Constable’s apology.
“It takes true professionalism and real strength of character to admit when mistakes are made and to do so publicly," he said.
"The Chief Constable has stated that while the raid at Stormont was necessary it could have been done in a more sensitive and appropriate style – I welcome his openness and honesty."
(MB)
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