Gerry Adams has denied being a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), telling a court he had “no involvement whatsoever” in bombings carried out by the paramilitary group.
In a witness statement to the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday, Mr Adams said he was “never a member of the IRA or its Army Council” and denied involvement in any bombings in the UK.
The former leader of Sinn Fein said the allegations brought against him in a civil claim, that he was responsible for three bombings in Britain during the 1970s and 1990s, were “untrue”.
Mr Adams, one of Northern Ireland‘s best-known political figures, has long been accused of having been a member of the Provisional IRA. He has always denied the allegation.
The 77-year-old wished the judge a “very happy St Patrick’s Day” as he entertained the witness box.
“I was never the commanding officer, or OC of the 2nd Battalion of the IRA’s Belfast brigade,” Mr Adams said.
“Indeed, I have never held any rank or role within the IRA, including on the IRA’s Army Council.
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“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.”
The legal case was brought by three people who were injured in three different bombings: one at London’s Old Bailey court in 1973, the Provisional IRA’s first such attack on the British mainland, and two 1996 blasts, targeting London’s Docklands and Manchester.
The claimants are seeking a finding on the balance of probabilities that Mr Adams is personally liable as a senior member of the IRA, and are claiming £1 in damages.
However, Mr Adams denied any role in the bombings, telling the court: “To be clear, I did not sanction any bombings in Britain in March 1973 – or in any other year.”
He added: “Sinn Fein is a political party that seeks a whole range of political objectives, including an end to partition and Irish unity.
“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.”
By Barnaby Papadopulos, news correspondent
It is quite the moment. Gerry Adams is, to say the least, a controversial figure.
He led Sinn Fein for 35 years, and was at the centre of the Republican movement in Northern Ireland across decades of protracted, bloody conflict.
But this is the first time he has stood in the witness box in an English court to give evidence under oath.
It is St Patrick’s Day, and there’s a fresh shamrock sitting in the breast pocket of his dark blue suit, just below a badge depicting the Palestinian flag.
Before he began his evidence in front of a packed courtroom, he wished the judge a “very happy St Patrick’s Day.”
But, if the location is unusual, his testimony has been heard many times before.
Mr Adams said that he had no knowledge of the bombings in 1973 and 1996, in London and Manchester, that are at the heart of this civil case.
He pointed out that he has never been questioned by the police, arrested, or charged, in connection to them.
Giving evidence in his defence, he focused on his involvement in the Northern Irish Civil Rights Association as a young man, and his longstanding belief that a political process was key to solving the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Under cross-examination, he said that he had no knowledge of the structure, or decision-making processes of the IRA.
A barrister for the claimants put it to him that the IRA’s business was “deadly”.
“The business of the IRA was to resist armed British occupation and oppression in the part of Ireland that I lived in,” Mr Adams responded. “They were at war.”
He was shown a video of himself, Martin McGuiness, and Kevin Mallon in 1986. It was put to him that all three of them were senior figures in the IRA’s army council. He denied that he was.
“Even if they were in those positions, they didn’t go around proclaiming them,” he added.
He was asked if he was prepared to talk about his alleged involvement in the IRA.
“I can’t talk about my involvement in the IRA, because I wasn’t involved in the IRA,” he responded.
Sir Max Hill KC, representing the bombing victims, said the Provisional IRA had caused 1,178 deaths, and asked Mr Adams: “The business of the IRA was deadly. We can agree on that, can’t we?”
Mr Adams replied: “Well, the business of the IRA was to resist armed British occupation and aggression in the part of Ireland that I lived in.”
He added: “Against them was the British Army; there were a number of armed groups who were deadly.”
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When asked if he stood by the actions of the IRA, Mr Adams said: “I do not stand by everything that they did, but these were my neighbours”.
Mr Adams said, though he was retired from front-line politics, he was committed to efforts to “cement the peace process, and to promote Irish unity”.
“My political work, from the late 1960s until today, is a matter of public record, and widely reported,” he said. “I worked with many others over many years to bring the conflict in the north of Ireland to an end.”
The court case continues.
