High Court grants bail to alleged IRA bomber John Downey

By PA reporter

John Downey, who is wanted by prosecutors in Northern Ireland over the 1972 murders of two soldiers in Co Fermanagh, has been granted bail by a High Court judge in Dublin, pending the approval of financial guarantees.

The former IRA man, 66, was arrested in Co Donegal on Monday on a European Arrest Warrant. Prosecutors north of the border have initiated extradition proceedings after announcing they have sufficient evidence to charge him with the murders of Lance Corporal Alfred Johnston, 32, and Private James Eames, 33, in a car bomb attack in Enniskillen.

In 2013, Downey was charged with murdering four Royal Household Cavalrymen in an IRA bomb in London's Hyde Park in 1982.

He stood trial at the Old Bailey, but the case dramatically collapsed after it was revealed he had received a written assurance from former prime minister Tony Blair's government that he was not actively wanted by the authorities.

Explaining the rationale for granting bail on Thursday morning, the judge highlighted that Downey had been on bail during court proceedings in England and had abided by all conditions.

Downey is expected to walk out of the court building later on Thursday if information the judge has requested on bail guarantees is received.

The Sinn Fein member, wearing a red jumper and checked shirt, remained impassive in court as his conditional bail was approved.

The two Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers died when an IRA bomb exploded in a car they were checking on Irvinestown Road, Cherrymount, Enniskillen, on August 25 1972.

Downey's prosecution for the Hyde Park bombing collapsed when it emerged he had received a UK government letter issued under the terms of the controversial On The Runs (OTRs) scheme.

In 2014, trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney ruled that Downey's arrest at Gatwick Airport, as he transited the UK on the way to a holiday, represented an abuse of process and he put a stay on any future prosecution in relation to the Hyde Park case.

The episode sparked a government inquiry into the OTR scheme.

Downey has always denied any involvement in the Hyde Park attack.