Gerry Adams has been accused of attempting to ‘rewrite history’ with his continued denial of ever being a member of the IRA as he gave evidence today in a landmark civil trial.
The former Sinn Fein president, 77, is being sued by three survivors of IRA bomb attacks on the British mainland in 1973 and 1996.
He entered the witness box on the sixth day of a civil trial today to be questioned about his alleged role in the IRA for the first time in an English courtroom.
Adams arrived at the High Court in London wearing a shamrock in his jacket pocket and wished the judge, Mr Justice Swift, a ‘very happy St Patrick’s Day’ as he took to the stand.
A number of supporters waving the Irish tricolour gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London watched by Army veterans who are following the proceedings intently.
Adams is being sued by John Clark, a victim of the IRA’s Old Bailey attack in 1973, Jonathan Ganesh, who was injured in the 1996 attack at London’s Docklands and Barry Laycock, who was injured in the attack at Manchester’s Arndale Shopping Centre in the same year.
They allege Adams was ‘directly responsible’ for the atrocities owing to his commanding role in the IRA.
Under cross-examination from Sir Max Hill KC, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, it was suggested to Adams that he and former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were ‘IRA volunteers turned politicians.’
Adams said: ‘I was always a political activist. I joined Sinn Fein at 16 and have been a political activist for 60 years.
‘I never “turned politician.” I was always politically engaged and I am not and was not a member of the IRA.’
Sir Max replied: ‘Mr Adams, you are rewriting history in your evidence.’
Adams told the High Court that he was not a member of the IRA but struggled to explain why he was not calling any witnesses who could corroborate his story.
Sir Max said that ‘there are those still alive that could be called as witnesses to assist you’.
He pointed to Adams’s assistant, Richard MacAuley, who was present in court.
Sir Max said: ‘Is Richard MacAuley alive?’
Adams replied: ‘To the best of my knowledge.’
Sir Max asked: ‘Has he been present in these proceedings?’
Adams replied: ‘Indeed he has.’
In a written witness statement, Adams said: ‘I was never a member of the IRA or its Army Council.
‘I have never held a “command-and-control role” in the IRA and have never been a senior, let alone most senior figure, in the IRA.’
Adams claims that any meetings with senior IRA figures or the British government solely relate to his role in Sinn Fein.
He added: ‘To be clear, membership of the political party, Sinn Fein, does not equate to membership of the IRA.
‘Throughout my life, opponents of Sinn Fein have repeatedly sought to conflate Sinn Fein with the IRA. As I have always stated, Sinn Fein and the IRA are separate organisations.’
Asked why he had always ‘stood by the IRA’ if not a member, Adams said: ‘I don’t stand by everything they did.
‘They were my neighbours. If your neighbour was under occupation… some would form themselves to some form of resistance.’
He said he was now ‘glad there is peace’.
He added: ‘I don’t distance myself from the IRA. I have been very clear there were dastardly things done that should not have been done.’
In his witness statement, he added: ‘I wish to emphasise that I am very conscious that the claimants have suffered significantly as a result of bombings in England in 1973 and 1996, in which they were innocent victims.
‘Although I deny categorically the allegations made by the claimants of my involvement in those bombings in any way, nothing in this statement should be taken as criticism of the claimants, or as any attempt to deny or diminish their awful experiences.’
In a packed courtroom, Adams denied that wearing a black beret at an IRA funeral meant he was a member of the terror group and said he was in fact ‘honoured’ to be part of a Republican ‘guard of honour’.
About 50 members of the press and public are sitting in an overspill courtroom. Shadow defence minister Mark Francois is also in attendance.
The trial continues.
