One of three men accused of planning a "Real IRA" bombing campaign in Britain suffers from a "significant intellectual impairment" which put him in the bottom 1 per cent of the population, an Old Bailey court heard today.
Mr Noel Maguire is "almost completely illiterate," said his counsel, Mr Patrick O'Connor QC. But there was no suggestion that because of his learning difficulties he must be innocent. "That would be nonsense," Mr O'Connor told the jury.
He was opening Mr Maguire's defence case and his client is expected to give evidence from the witness box on Monday.
Mr O'Connor said Mr Maguire could stand up to questioning "but there are limits". He had difficulty in following quick-fire questions or complicated sequences of events.
Mr Maguire (34) has denied conspiring with brothers Robert Hulme (23) and Aiden Hulme (26) to cause explosions between January 1st and November 15th, 2001.
The trial resumes on Monday.