gerry kelly – Slugger O'Toole

Gerry Kelly libel case: “The abuse of process in this case is so blatant that it would be utterly unjust if the court were to allow the proceedings to continue.”

Pete Baker on January 8, 2024, 3:14 pm

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justice, statue, lady justice

As the BBC report, Belfast High Court has thrown out a libel case brought by Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly against freelance journalist Malachi O’Doherty, describing it as “scandalous, frivolous and vexatious”. As the Irish Times report notes In a decision published on Monday, The Master of Belfast High Court, Evan Bell, also struck out Mr Kelly’s defamation action on the basis that “the proceedings are an abuse of process”, that it “has no realistic prospect of success”, and that …

Don’t you know who I am?

Pete Baker on February 3, 2018, 11:12 pm

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As the BBC reports Sinn Féin has confirmed that one of their MLA’s has removed a clamp from the front wheel of his car, using what appears to be bolt cutters, in Belfast. In a statement, a spokesperson for the party confirmed that Gerry Kelly removed the clamp at about 07:20 GMT on Friday outside a gym. A recording of the incident has been posted on social media. The Belfast Telegraph report notes The footage was captured in the Exchange …

Gerry Kelly: “The letter with the figures said it all because it dealt with anti-sectarianism and that’s the way I am…”

Pete Baker on May 16, 2015, 7:10 pm

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Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly is still squirming on the sectarian hook the party hoisted him on during his failed campaign in North Belfast during the UK parliamentary election. [Petard? – Ed] Pardon you… After his party colleague, Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA, [Good heavens, you’re the Culture Minister?! – Ed], tried, and failed, to blame the Electoral Commission for Sinn Féin’s use of the 2011 census’ breakdown of the constituency by religion, or religion brought up in, to support the party’s claim that Gerry …

Carál Ní Chuilín: “Electoral commission vetoed using last election figures…” – Update

Pete Baker on May 2, 2015, 7:40 pm

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David may not want to go there, although ‘idealistic’ wasn’t the first word that sprang to mind. [Was it another word beginning with ‘i’? – Ed] You might very well think that… ANYhoo… Gerry Kelly’s Sinn Féin colleague in north Belfast, and the Northern Ireland Culture Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA, should, perhaps, have other things on her mind. But, on Thursday, the Minister was on Twitter defending Sinn Féin’s use of the 2011 census’ breakdown of the constituency by religion in support of the party’s …

Gerry Kelly: North Belfast is still winnable and is determined to challenge politics that are “sectarian in the extreme”

David McCann on March 20, 2015, 4:23 pm

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Today Sinn Fein launched their plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in North Belfast. As pacts have dominated the headlines I caught up with the party’s sitting MLA and Westminster candidate, Gerry Kelly to get his views about deal announced on St. Patrick’s Day. I began by asking him what his initial thoughts were on the pact? Kelly told me that it whilst four constituencies were included it was really a two seat pact to …

Photo of the Day: Gerry Kelly being mindful

David McCann on December 14, 2014, 1:54 pm

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Gerry Adams has a whimsy contest for you people to enter into, which we are doubling up as our photo of the day 4 a special prize: What is Gerry Kelly doing? And where is he doing it? pic.twitter.com/ieILeapyTY — Gerry Adams (@GerryAdamsSF) December 13, 2014 1st Prize in Gerry Kelly Quiz: A day @ Stormont. 2nd Prize 2 Days @ Stormont. Judges Tom& Ted. Deadline Monday @ 5.45. — Gerry Adams (@GerryAdamsSF) December 13, 2014 (Picture Credit: Gerry …

#Baggott: PSNI should no longer be accountable

John Ó Néill on June 27, 2014, 12:10 pm

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Matt Baggott is pretty much leaving the PSNI in the same way as he joined in 2009. At that time, he was being pressed by the Coroner John Leckey to release files on shoot-to-kill cases from 1982 so that inquests could be held. His predecessor, Hugh Orde had been ignoring a similar request since 2007. At the time, the PSNI released a statement saying: The PSNI wishes to re-emphasise its willingness to co-operate fully with the coroner and continues to …

“Just to confuse matters, some elements of the tale of the On The Runs appear to have been hidden in plain sight.”

Pete Baker on March 1, 2014, 4:26 pm

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BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport with, perhaps, the best description of the mechanism used to address the issue of on-the-runs. From Mark Devenport’s BBC blog While republicans insist unionists knew all about what was happening to the On The Runs, that is not strictly true. Senior PSNI officers answered some questions posed by Northern Ireland Policing Board members and the scheme got a glancing reference in the voluminous Eames-Bradley report on dealing with the legacy of the Troubles. But when former …

So now I’m suing, now I’m not…

Mick Fealty on February 27, 2014, 10:43 pm

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This, for the record, is one of the oddest stories I’ve seen since I started blogging on Northern Ireland. Here, without further comment is Gerry Kelly explaining his decision to withdraw his legal action against the Chief Constable of the PSNI, three days after announcing it: …on Thursday, the North Belfast MLA said the incident had “unfortunately split opinion into two camps of unionist versus nationalist alongside elements in the media reducing the issue to one of money”. “Issuing the …

How the system of “comfort letters” developed. Secrecy was important, Hain admits

Brian Walker on February 27, 2014, 3:36 pm

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Much of the ammunition Peter Robinson needs is already in Mr Justice Sweeney’s lengthy judgment in the Downey case. Key points in this Belfast Telegraph summary. The administrative scheme began in 2000 to rectify the anomaly because as on the runs, they weren’t eligible for the early release scheme. The overall picture is of Gerry Kelly as Sinn Fein’s point man with the British government on the issue, coming forward regularly with new names and the legal authorities led by successive …

Policing Board member Gerry Kelly sues Board’s own ’employee’ the Chief Constable of the PSNI

Mick Fealty on February 25, 2014, 10:10 am

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Given the currency of the debate on reform of the Garda oversight system in the Republic, and Sinn Fein’s settled view that an NI style policing board system – ie, where power is distributed between a basket of political parties – is preferable to direct control by the minister it’s a little odd that their most senior representative on the PBNI has, as the Belfast Telegraph reports: “…taken a civil case against the PSNI chief constable (Matt Baggott) over the …

McCann meets…@LADFLEG Part 2

David McCann on February 20, 2014, 9:00 pm

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Pints nicely topped up, we began round two of our interview. I began by putting to them the criticism they get most that they are one sided and only go after Loyalists. Ron responded that there are plenty of occasions where LAD has criticised Sinn Fein citing the imagery they created when Gerry Kelly stepped in front a PSNI land rover last year. I followed up by asking them if they feel that they have ever stepped over the mark …

NI Justice Minister: “It is important to note that, in setting some minimum standards, I am not prohibiting the Board from adding to these minimum criteria…”

Pete Baker on January 28, 2014, 2:39 pm

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Whilst Brian may regard them as “surely sensible” changes to the criteria for the next Chief Constable, and they may well be, as I mentioned in updates to a previous post, no sooner had the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, the Alliance Party’s David Ford, announced those changes than the NI First and deputy First Ministers promptly agreed to exercise their prerogative to call his decision into the dysfunctional NI Executive semi-detached polit-bureau [Where it will be put to the sword… – …

Sinn Fein and Policing: One rule for the south and another in Northern Ireland?

Mick Fealty on January 7, 2014, 10:42 pm

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So, Gerry Kelly? That moment he took a ride on the front of a PSNI ‘Jeep’ has earned him an informed warning, which is “a formal reprimand by the police, and although it is not a conviction, it is recorded on the person’s criminal record for 12 months”. It’s an alternative to referring the matter to the courts. In an interview with Karen Patterson on GMU this morning (about 1h49m in) his case with when Ruth Patterson (although he calls …

More #Twaddell: DUP, dupes and duplicity.

John Ó Néill on September 30, 2013, 12:56 pm

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The onus is now upon nationalism to show leadership and to respond positively to this genuine attempt to reach accommodation. They must face down the elements in their community who wish to drag Northern Ireland back. So says DUP ‘leader’ Peter Robinson, but presumably not in reference to his party members who were advocating burning tricolours, defacing religious statues, indulging in murder fantasies, okay with assaults on the mayor or happy to be seen at UVF parades. Robinson was actually …

Scotland’s Commissioner to investigate Gerry Kelly’s attendance and speech at Castlederg parade

Pete Baker on September 24, 2013, 9:11 pm

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With the Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards, Douglas Bain, having recused himself from the investigation of the complaints that Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly’s attendance and speech at the controversial Castlederg Parade in August this year was in breach of the code of conduct for MLAs “by glorifying terrorism and damaging community relations” [Is he washing his hair? – Ed] He’s a member of the Parades Commission… ANYhoo… As the BBC report, the NI Assembly today agreed to appoint Scotland’s Commissioner for Ethical Standards in …

NI Assembly Commissioner for Standards: “In these circumstances some might have concerns as to my impartiality to consider your complaint…”

Pete Baker on August 31, 2013, 6:24 pm

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I’m not entirely convinced by the reason given by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards, Douglas Bain, for his decision to recommend that the NI Assembly Committee on Standards and Privileges appoint an Acting Commissioner to consider the DUP and TUV complaints about Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly’s attendance and speech at the recent controversial Castlederg parade. Here’s what the Commissioner told the TUV leader Jim Allister, MLA. Thank you for your letter of 12 August 2013 making a …

Sinn Féin: Hyde Park bomb charges “vindictive, unnecessary and unhelpful”

Pete Baker on May 22, 2013, 5:02 pm

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Reports that John Anthony Downey, 61, from County Donegal, has been charged with the murder of four members of the Royal Household Cavalry in the 1982 Provisional IRA bombing in Hyde Park, London – he was arrested on Sunday at Gatwick Airport – has prompted a statement from Sinn Féin’s Gerry Kelly, MLA and member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. From the Sinn Féin statement [added emphasis throughout] [Gerry Kelly] “John Downey is a member of Sinn Féin and a long time supporter of the …

McGuinness: “We can’t have a half-baked approach…”

Pete Baker on November 4, 2012, 12:12 pm

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Whilst the Northern Ireland deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, has been urging co-operation with the police investigation of the murder of David Black, his party colleague Gerry Kelly has complained of “politically motivated” charges against Padraic Wilson – relating to the aftermath of the 2005 murder of Robert McCartney. From the UTV report Sinn Féin MLAs Gerry Kelly and Sue Ramsey were among party members in the public gallery during the court case. Mr Kelly has demanded the immediate …

“That would require approval by the justice committee, the executive and by the assembly as a whole”

Pete Baker on December 21, 2011, 11:18 pm

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According to the BBC report’s headline -“Justice minister may look into the rehiring of RUC officers”. Well, he may. At issue, apparently, are the unknown number of former RUC officers in the 399 staff currently supplied by a recruitment agency for temporary employment, as civilians, by the PSNI. Apparently, again, “Sinn Fein has asked the Northern Ireland Audit Office to investigate the issue.” [Because the NI Policing Board decided not to? – Ed] Possibly… But as the first linked BBC report notes of the …