“There was no organisation specified by the PSNI..”
From the various reports, amid claims of false information being given to the investigating team, it seems that all concerned are in agreement that there has been a threat made against at least one of the main witnesses to the killing of Paul Quinn – as reported in Sunday’s Observer. Although they don’t agree on who was responsible.. for the threat, that is – naturally enough. Adds The UTV report, linked above, has been updated.
Sean Woodward told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee: “I was aware of those press reports and the stories that were circulating before they were published in the newspapers over the weekend. “The Chief Constable (of the Police Service of Northern Ireland) takes those things very seriously.”
From the BBC report
Mr Quinn, 21, from Cullyhanna, died after being attacked and beaten at a shed near Castleblaney in October.
His father, Stephen, said the family were worried about a threat against the witness. SDLP MLA Dominic Bradley said the IRA was responsible.
However, Mr Murphy said mainstream republicans were not involved.
“More than two weeks ago, the police visited this family. We made contact with this young man’s family. We became aware that the threat to him didn’t pertain from any organisation whatsoever,” Mr Murphy said.
“There was no organisation specified by the PSNI. We offer our full support to the family.”
As I might have mentioned before..
“It’s far better people tell the truth on the thing..”
Of course, that requires some clarity of vision..
And, as has been mentioned in connection to another recent event – “Justice is the glue that holds society together.”
New Yorker, I would not venture to predict what the long term effects in local politics will be. The only prediction I feel confident making is that the Twinbrooks of the world will continue their monosyllabic search for “stoops” — their word, not mine — and then gaze in deep amaze as FF and FG politicians effectively use the Quinn murder and SF’s statements in its aftermath to further isolate, limit and dismantle SF’s dwindling electoral prospects in the South.
Stepping back, it is like watching the slow, graceful arc of a diver into an empty pool of concrete. Clearly, some political futures may rise and others will come to fall by wayside if no one is ever prosecuted for this murder, but my thoughts are with the young friends and the family of Paul Quinn right now, not with politicians.
Chris Gaskin makes the tortured point that Conor Murphy did not interfere in a police investigation by refuting IRA involvement. But he did not refute it, not by a long shot, he simply denied it. Nor has Chris or anyone else refuted it since. However, it was more than a denial, because he said he had contacted the local IRA people and received very solid assurances that they were not involved. Now it is a simple fact verified by Gardai and PSNI that those very same local IRA people are suspects in this murder, ergo he has very much interfered in the investigation. Nobody asked him to, he did it under his own bat, so he can take the consequences. And consequences there will be, for Conor Murphy has signed a ministerial pledge of office which leaves no room for consulting terrorist leaders who are suspects in a murder case. he has no business assessing the value or otherwise of these assurances he got, that is a job for the police and he should now tell the PSNI exactly who he talked to. And to get back to the original heart of this thread, the PSNI communication to the potential witness did in fact state very clearly that his life was under threat from republican elements who believed he had given evidence on the Quinn murder to Gardai.