Other news in brief
McIlveen jail terms correct, says British AG
The British attorney general Baroness Scotland has issued a statement saying that sentences handed down for the sectarian murder of Ballymena schoolboy Michael McIlveen were correct,
writes Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor.
The North’s director of public prosecutions Sir Alasdair Fraser recently wrote to Baroness Scotland asking whether the case should be referred to the Belfast Court of Appeal on the basis that the sentences were “unduly lenient”.
Four men were jailed for the May 2005 killing of the Ballymena teenager. He was punched, kicked and beaten with a baseball bat. They received minimum prison terms ranging from 10 years to 13 years.
The AG passed the case to British solicitor general Vera Baird QC to review. She decided the trial judge was correct in his sentencing.
Woman shot in Lanzarote critical
An Irish woman who was wounded in a gun attack in Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, is in a critical condition in hospital but is expected to survive, according to police sources there, writes Conor Lally and Tom Worden.
Police said mother of one Michelle Massey (25), Moyross, Limerick, was shot in the abdomen. The Spanish suspect then turned the gun on himself in an apparent attempt to take his own life.
However, he survived and is recovering in hospital. Ms Massey, who has been living in Lanzarote, has one son aged six months. He is being cared for by relatives.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said consular assistance is being provided to Ms Massey.
Charges to follow Stephen’s Day death
Gardaí expect there will be charges arising out of the death of a man who was assaulted in the early hours of St Stephen’s Day 2007, an inquest has heard.
Darren McKeown (29), Donore, Co Meath, was assaulted in Drogheda and died later in hospital.
Insp Niall Smith of the Bridewell, who was liaising with the Garda in Drogheda, told Dublin city coroner Dr Brian Farrell yesterday that there would be charges arising out of the death.
Three held after trafficking rescue
Alliance Assembly member Anna Lo has praised the police after six suspected victims of human trafficking were rescued in Belfast and Derry, writes Gerry Moriarty.
The women were rescued as part of Operation Sleek which is cracking down on Chinese organised crime gangs who traffick women for prostitution.
A man (39) was arrested in Belfast while a woman (40) and a man (41) were arrested in Worcestershire in England. The BBC reported last night that the Belfast man was a former member of the PSNI.
Man held after firearms find in car
A man in his 20s has been arrested following the seizure of an assortment of firearms after a car was stopped and searched during a Garda operation.
He was arrested on the M7 outside Portlaoise at on Thursday. Gardaí seized four shotguns and two rifles. The man is being held at Portlaoise under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act.
No prosecution for garda road death
The DPP has directed no prosecution in the case of an elderly woman who died after being struck by a car driven by an off-duty garda. Clare Barr (75), Ashtown Gate, Dublin, was killed on the Navan Road in September 2007.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell yesterday set a date to hear of the inquest at Dublin City Coroner’s Court in August after a senior investigating officer with the Garda Ombudsman Commission told him yesterday that a file was sent to the DPP and no prosecution was directed.