Gerry Adams ‘must have approved Mountbatten’s murder’, court told.
Former Sinn Féin leader ‘emphatically, unequivocally and categorically denies’ involvement in bombings.
Gerry Adams must have approved the IRA’s assassination of Lord Mountbatten, a veteran investigative journalist has claimed in court.
John Ware, who has made a number of programmes about the Troubles, was giving evidence in a civil claim against the former Sinn Féin president, which alleges Mr Adams played a “pivotal role” in the Provisional Irish Republican Army and was personally liable for orchestrating its bombings.
Mr Ware, who testified at the High Court in London on Monday, said information provided to him by police sources and former members of the Provisional IRA led him to believe that Mr Adams served on the paramilitary group’s army council from the late 1970s until 2005.
In his witness statement, he claimed Brian Fitzsimons, the former head of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch in Belfast, told him that intelligence reports said Mr Adams had organised a wave of bombings following his release from Maze prison in 1977.
He claimed Mr Fitzsimons told him of intelligence that said the murder of Lord Mountbatten “could not have been done without the knowledge and approval” of Mr Adams and former IRA leaders Martin McGuinness and Ivor Bell.
