'Slab' Murphy says allegations 'unfounded'

Alleged IRA chief of staff Thomas "Slab" Murphy today denied he had any connection with properties in Manchester being probed…

Alleged IRA chief of staff Thomas "Slab" Murphy today denied he had any connection with properties in Manchester being probed as part of an investigation into the alleged assets of the republican terrorist group.

Mr Murphy said there was "absolutely no foundation" to the allegations about him which had been repeated at length over the past week. He said he owned no property either in Manchester or elsewhere.

The Assets Recovery Agency last week raided the assets of property company Craven Property as part of its investigations into alleged IRA links to 250 Manchester properties valued at around £30 million.

In a statement issued through Belfast solicitors Madden and Finucane, the farmer, whose property straddles the South Armagh border at Crossmaglen, denied any connection with Craven Property Group.

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On Monday, property company boss Dermot Craven denied having any dealings with 'Slab' Murphy - but said he had done business with Mr Murphy's brother, Frank.

Mr Murphy said in his statement: "There is absolutely no foundation to the allegations about me which have been carried in the media for some time, and repeated at length over the past week.

"I have never conducted any business with the Craven Property Group, nor have I any link with other businesses run by them."

Mr Murphy said it was "distressing" to him and his family to see false allegations being made by anonymous staff in the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) and repeated as fact in the media.

"I want to categorically state, for the record, that all of these allegations are totally untrue."

He said he believed questions had to be asked as to why the raids were conducted in the full glare of the media and why his name was leaked in connection with the case.

"My name has appeared on no ARA statement that I am aware of and no agency has been in contact with me in relation to any of this.

"My solicitors are in contact with those concerned to ascertain why my name has been falsely linked to this case."

He said he owned no property: "In fact I had to sell my own home some years ago to cover legal fees following an unsuccessful libel case. Despite losing this case I take an attack on my reputation very seriously."

In 1998 Mr Murphy lost a libel action against the Sunday Timesafter challenging the newspaper's description of him as a prominent IRA member.

In his statement, Mr Murphy said premises depicted in the media as his home were not. "I do not live at that address. I make a living from farming."

Mr Murphy admitted being a life long republican and accused people opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process of trying to wreck it by blackening his name.

"Those opposed to the peace process are obviously hoping that in vilifying me personally and republicanism in general they will scupper attempts to build peace. They will not succeed.

"I have been a republican all my life and fully support the peace process. I will continue to play whatever role I can, to see it work."