No Prosecution For Suspects Named By Supergrass Gary Haggarty

Thirteen people implicated by loyalist supergrass Gary Haggarty will not be prosecuted, the Public Prosecutions Service (PPS) has confirmed.

Director of the PPS Barry McGrory said there was insufficient corroborating evidence to support the allegations.

Haggarty was put behind bars earlier this year after pleading guilty to 200 terrorist-related charges, including five murders.

He could theoretically walk free as he has already served three years in custody on remand.

Mr McGrory said: "Full and careful consideration has been given to all of the evidence currently available in respect of all cases.

"I have now concluded that the evidence currently available is insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of obtaining a conviction against 11 of the suspects reported by the PSNI and the two police officers reported by Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

"I have therefore taken a decision that a prosecution case against these individuals will not be taken forward."

Sinn Féin Policing spokesperson Linda Dillon said: "The scale of collusion in this case is appalling but it is only the latest in a line of high-profile cases which are beginning to expose the extent to which the police and British State forces colluded with loyalist death squads throughout the conflict.

"Gary Haggerty was a self-confessed senior member of the UVF involved in directing that organisation’s sectarian campaign. He has admitted involvement in a string of murders all the while acting as a Special Branch informer, alleging that his handlers not only protected him from arrest and prosecution, but also actively encouraged his activities.

"Therefore today's decision by the DPP is hugely disappointing for families of the victims who are rightly asking whether, after more than five years of investigations and admissions, is anyone involved in this case ever going to face prosecution?

"The suspicion is that the State is continuing to cover up the extent of its involvement in collusion."

(CD)