SAOIRSE32

Sunday Times

**Via Newshound

Carissa Casey
May 21, 2006

A FORMER republican prisoner who revealed that the IRA was offered a deal that could have saved the lives of at least six of the 1981 hunger strikers has been targeted by a graffiti attack near his home in west Belfast.

Richard O’Rawe said he had been the subject of a hate campaign by a small group of former IRA prisoners since the recent broadcast of an RTE documentary supporting his claims about the hunger strike. A wall near his home has been daubed with the slogan “Richard O’Rawe, H-Block Traitor” in red paint.

“Whoever wrote that would have been influenced by those who have been vilifying and demonising me,” O’Rawe said.

Two weeks ago, in a documentary to mark the 25th anniversary of Bobby Sands’s death, Denis Bradley, the former deputy chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said he believed the British government had offered a deal to the hunger strikers after three or four of them had died. Bradley said the deal offered was similar to the one that was eventually accepted.

O’Rawe says that since he published a book making similar claims last year, he has been ostracised by former friends. But the attacks have become more ominous since the documentary. “There had been a swing towards me, backing up the veracity of what I’m saying in my book. Then the assaults came like a wave for the best part of two weeks — verbal and written assaults in the media,” he said.

In his book, O’Rawe said he and Brendan “Bik” McFarlane, the IRA prisoners’ commanding officer, accepted concessions offered by the Foreign Office on July 5, 1981 before Joe McDonnell, the fifth hunger striker, died. O’Rawe claims that the IRA army council rejected the deal.

At the time Owen Carron, a Sinn Fein candidate, was contesting a by-election for the Fermanagh/South Tyrone seat left vacant a few months earlier by Sands’s death.

O’Rawe’s claims have been disputed by several former ex-prisoners including McFarlane, who says no offer was made.

O’Rawe, who grew up on the Falls Road, says he now lives an isolated existence. “Guys I have known all my life walk by me. I have learnt not to say hello to people unless they say hello to me. People I used to drink with before don’t want me in their company because they don’t feel comfortable with me. There’s a feeling I’ve broken with the leadership.”

O’Rawe describes himself as a committed republican. “I think Gerry Adams is owed a huge debt. I don’t think anyone other than Adams could have brought an end to an unwinnable war and kept republican communities united. But six of my comrades died that should not have, and it’s important the truth comes out warts and all.

“The thing that gets me is that there are republicans out there who are saying, ‘O’Rawe’s right’, but rather than stand up and ask questions they’d prefer to attack me. It’s almost as if it’s okay that the leadership in 1981 let six men die to get Carron elected. I find that absolutely atrocious.”

O’Rawe considered moving away but decided against it. He is writing a novel about Al-Qaeda.

An all-party committee is likely to be established at Stormont this week to examine what issues are preventing the restoration of devolution.

A motion to establish the committee is set to be tabled on Tuesday by Sir Reg Empey, the Ulster Unionist leader, after the expected failure to elect a first minister and deputy.

The committee would have two members from each of the main unionist and nationalist parties, and one from the alliance.

The SDLP is in favour of the idea, depending on the terms of its remit. The DUP has also expressed interest, while Sinn Fein says it will support the proposal if the committee is given sufficient substance.

Empey’s move follows dissent within his party over its alliance with David Ervine, leader of the Progressive Unionist party, the political wing of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

BBC

The author of a government commissioned report reviewing the Parades Commission has said it needs to be re-formed.

Sir George Quigley also criticised the NIO for appointing two Orangemen to the body which “should be reconstituted”.

He said those directly involved in the parades dispute should not be on the decision-making body.

On Friday, the High Court ruled the appointments of David Burrows and fellow Orangeman Don McKay were unlawful.

It said the appointments did not ensure membership of the body represented both sides of the community.

Sir George told the BBC’s Politics Show on Sunday: “My feeling is, and certainly this was the conclusion of my report, that one should not have on the body those who are involved in the parades issue itself.

“You don’t get over the difficulty by saying they will not be involved in their own area.

“Because, so many of these dispute are inter-related - we have the whole problem of feeder parades.

“I think you simply have got to get people of independence, common-sense, able to analyse the case.”

DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said he agreed with Sir George.

He said his party supported reform and a new approach and he called for a balanced membership.

There were now no members of the DUP on the commission, said Mr Donaldson.

Joe Duffy, a resident of the nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown, went to the High Court last week seeking to overturn the appointment of Mr Burrows and Mr MacKay.

Both Mr Burrows and Mr MacKay were members of the Portadown Lodge of the Orange Order which has been at the centre of the decade-long dispute surrounding their Drumcree parade.

Mr MacKay resigned from the commission earlier this week after it emerged he had listed DUP MP David Simpson and SDLP assembly member Dolores Kelly as referees on his application form without asking their permission.

Secretary of State Peter Hain said he would take legal advice over the High Court judgement.

The Parades Commission was set up in by the government in 1997 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.

Sinn Féin

Published: 21 May, 2006

Sinn Féin TD Arthur Morgan speaking at the Martin ‘Doco’ Doherty commemoration in Dublin today, Sunday 21st May, said ‘it is time that the Irish government supports the demands for truth from the families of those killed in the 26 Counties as a result of collusion between British forces and unionist paramilitaries.’

Deputy Morgan said ‘is it any wonder that the British continue to hamper the search for the truth about the Dublin Monaghan bombings, the murder of Seamus Ludlow or the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane when the Irish government have refused to establish a public inquiry in their own jurisdiction.’

Today’s commemoration also remembered IRA Volunteer Raymond McCreesh and INLA Volunteer Patsy O’Hara who died after 61 days on Hunger Strike on 21st May 1981.

Deputy Morgan said:

“Republicans gathered here in Dublin today to honour the memory of IRA Volunteer Martin Doherty and also to mark the deaths on hunger strike of IRA Volunteer Raymond McCreesh and INLA Volunteer Patsy O’Hara who died this day 25 years ago.

“IRA Volunteer Martin Doherty was killed by unionist paramilitaries in an attempted bomb attack on the Widow Scallons pub on Dublin’s Pearse Street on the 21st May 1994. His courage, in confronting the UVF death squad saved countless lives.

“To this day there remain many unanswered questions around the murder of Martin Doherty - questions for the Gardaí, this state and the British, with lingering suspicions that the UVF, who claimed responsibility, did not act alone.

“Martin Doherty’s murder is not the only case where questions have been raised. There are many examples of British state collusion with unionist paramilitaries or direct operations by British forces in which civilians were killed in the 26 Counties, including the Dublin – Monaghan bombings. Last week marked the 32nd anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and the families, through Justice for the Forgotten, are still campaigning for the truth. The ongoing refusal of the Irish government to establish a full public inquiry into the Dublin Monaghan bombings is a disgrace. Is it any wonder that the British continue to hamper the search for truth or that they are refusing to hold a public inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane.

“Deep concerns have also been raised about the government’s Tribunal of Inquiries Bill which gives the government almost complete control over the direction of any tribunal and severely limits the potential for such inquiries to discover the full truth about the extent of British state collusion with unionist paramilitaries in the 26 Counties.

“It is time for the truth about collusion between British forces and unionist paramilitaries. It is time that there was a spotlight on the lack of response by this state and the failure to properly investigate such cases. It is time for the Irish government to stand up for the rights of its own citizens and to support their demands for justice.”ENDS

**This banner link to the Vol. Martin Doco Doherty RFB

was found at the >>Dunloy Fallen Comrades RFB.

Note: The Vol. Martin Doco Doherty RFB site is currently over its bandwidth limit, so you will have to wait to see it.

BBC

Richard McIlkenny, one of the Birmingham Six wrongly imprisoned for IRA bombings in the 1970s has died in a Dublin hospital.

Richard McIlkenny

Born in Belfast, Mr McIlkenny, who was aged 73, was released 15 years ago.

Six Irishmen resident in Birmingham were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 for pub bombings in the city which killed 21 people. They served 16 years.

Despite pleas that the confessions had been obtained through beatings, they were not freed until March 1991.

The six were Paddy Hill, Billy Power, Mr McIlkenny, Hugh Callaghan, Gerry Hunter and John Walker.

He was a factory worker in towns in the North of England and was living in Birmingham when he was detained along with friends by Special Branch detectives on 21 November, 1974 after two pubs in the city were bombed.

He was interrogated by police for three days until he signed a false confession admitting to bombing the pubs in which 21 people died and 162 were injured.

On 24 November, 1974, Mr McIlkenny appeared in court along with Patrick Hill, Gerry Hunter, Hugh Callaghan, Billy Power and Johnny Walker, and was remanded into custody.

“We’ve waited a long time for this - 16 years because of hypocrisy and brutality - but every dog has its day and we’re going to have ours.”
Richard McIlkenny

>>Flashback to the day they were released

During their trial the men claimed their confessions had been beaten out of them, but the court did not believe them.

In August 1975 the Birmingham Six were sentenced to life in prison on the basis of their false confessions.

They were denied leave to appeal and forced to wait until 1987, when, in the light of new evidence, their case was referred to the Court of Appeal before being rejected.

Mass public protests in Ireland and in England kept their case alive until August 1990, when forensic investigations showed their confessions had been tampered with.

The following year, in March 1991, their convictions were quashed, and they were released after 16 years in jail onto the streets outside the Old Bailey in London.

Richard McIlkenny was first to speak. “It’s good to see you all,” he said.

“We’ve waited a long time for this - 16 years because of hypocrisy and brutality. But every dog has its day and we’re going to have ours.”

Following his release Mr McIlkenny settled near Dublin.

Mr McIlkenny is survived by his wife Kathleen, his daughters and his only son, who were all at his bedside on Sunday in the James Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown when he died.

It is understood he had been battling cancer for some time.

Sunday Life

By Joe Oliver
21 May 2006

The party that holds the balance of power on Belfast City Council is facing a major dilemma over the election of a new Lord Mayor.

The four Alliance Party members are being asked to back Sinn Fein’s nominated candidate - former IRA bomber, Caral ni Chuilin.

But they fear her appointment could be public relations disaster with a Royal visit and other events scheduled later this year to mark the centenary of the City Hall.

However, we can also reveal that they would have major difficulties with an Ulster Unionist candidate following the party’s controversial alliance with PUP boss David Ervine.

Mr Ervine represents the Pottinger ward on the council and one member of the Alliance group told us:

“The credibility of the Ulster Unionist Party has been shot to smithereens.

“The IRA is on a recognised ceasefire, but the paramilitary group which Mr Ervine represents is not.

“He will obviously be joining his new colleagues in the council chamber, so the election of a member from that party would be difficult to support.”

The Alliance councillor added: “Talks involving the various parties have taken place, but any final decision is probably going to come very late in the day.”

The DUP’s Wallace Browne is due to step down from the mayoral office when his term finishes at the end of the month.

The UUP will meet this week to select a candidate from three-long standing councillors - Ian Adamson, Bob Stoker and Jim Rodgers, who have all previously served as Lord Mayor.

Sinn Fein members, having nominated councillor Ni Chuilin, will argue that they are next in line for the top post.

The north Belfast councillor was jailed for nine years in the 1980s for her part in a foiled Provo bomb plot to wipe out RUC officers.

She served four years of her sentence for a string of terrorist offences, including possession of explosives with intent and membership of the IRA.

Meanwhile, the SDLP will also meet this week to select its candidate. Carmel Hanna is understood to be among the front-runners.

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
21 May 2006

A terrified Belfast man last night denied being a cocaine dealer.

Angry Sean Tierney hit out after graffiti was daubed in Sevastopol Street, off the Falls Road, last week, accusing him of being a drug pusher.

It read ‘Sean Tierney - Cocaine Dealer. Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD)’.

Mr Tierney claims the sinister messages were painted because his partner Isobel Loughran is the aunt of Ballymurphy murder victim Gerard Devlin.

Ms Loughran witnessed the murder of the father-of-six in February.

Said Sean: “I think this graffiti is a smokescreen because I firmly believe these people are going to shoot me under the name of DAAD.

“Things have been getting a bit tense for me lately. I feel I’m being watched all the time by supporters of the people who murdered Gerard.

“The people who did this are trying to discredit me because they know Isobel is a witness in Gerard’s murder.

“I have absolutely nothing to hide and everyone knows I’m no drug dealer. This graffiti is just the latest in a long line of intimidation against friends of Gerard Devlin.

“These people used the name DAAD to make me worried because this group shot people in the past, but I won’t be going anywhere.”

DAAD was a cover name used by the IRA after the paramilitary group’s 1994 ceasefire to murder suspected drug dealers.

The 46-year-old man’s address was also daubed on walls on the Springfield Road and in Andersonstown and Twinbrook.

The plasterer vowed to remain in Ballymurphy.

Added Sean: “I’m obviously worried about these people because they have access to weapons, but I won’t be leaving my home.

“I’ve been here for 11 years and fully intend to stay. I have been subjected to other forms of intimidation, but this is the worst yet. The whole estate has been tortured by these people and it’s about time the police did something about it.”

Friends of the plasterer were last night painting over the graffiti.

This latest incident comes after teenager Jim Reynolds cheated death after he was brutally attacked by a gang of hammer-wielding thugs last month.

The 16-year-old claimed he was targeted because he witnessed Gerard Devlin’s murder.

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
21 May 2006

The parents of murdered teenager Thomas Devlin are planning to visit Ulster schools to warn kids about the dangers of knives.

Thomas’s grieving parents, Jim and Penny, believe the move may help police combat the growing problem of knife culture in Northern Ireland.

We understand the initiative would involve the 15-year-old stab victim’s mum and dad talking to pupils about the devastating impact their son’s murder has had on their lives.

Said Penny: “There is a lot of youth violence at the moment and we just want to do our best to highlight the dangers of knives in our society.

“Nothing has been decided yet, but we have thought about taking our message to kids in schools.

“We are looking into holding workshops in schools.

“The aim of the Thomas Devlin Fund is to promote public awareness about the impact of gratuitous violence against young people and one way we could this is by going directly to the children.

“I think it could be a very effective way of getting the message about the dangers of knives across to young people.”

Latest police figures show that violent knife crime has risen by 13pc over the last six months, with 79 separate knife attacks.

The Devlin’s plan comes after we revealed last month how police are expected to reveal details of a major province-wide anti-knife campaign.

It is understood the horrific nature of Thomas’s death prompted senior cops to launch the television, radio and newspaper campaign.

Thomas was viciously stabbed five times in the back as he walked with friends, close to his home on the Somerton Road, north Belfast, last August.

Although details of the new campaign have yet to be completed, an announcement is expected to be made over the coming weeks.

One of the senior police officers who is helping to organise the campaign is Detective Superintendent Alan Mains.

This latest development comes after Sunday Life offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the teenager’s killers.

Sunday Life

By Ashleigh Wallace
21 May 2006

Detectives linked to the team investigating the murder of Bangor woman Lisa Dorrian were called to a top-secret meeting in Belfast after a shallow grave was discovered in her home town.

Officers involved in the investigation attended a meeting in the city after the suspected grave was discovered in a wooded area behind the Fitness First complex on the West Circular Road.

However, Lisa’s sister Joanne last night revealed the family have been assured the search at the site of the former Clandeboye Shopping Centre is not linked to Lisa (25).

She said: “We have had numerous phone calls from people asking about the search but we’ve been told by the police that it’s definitely nothing to do with Lisa.

“We still believe she was dumped at sea.”

The alarm was raised around 4pm on Thursday by a member of the public.

The woodland - which backs on to the grounds of Rathgael Juvenile Justice Centre - was immediately cordoned off

The search has concentrated on an area beside a small lake.

Yesterday, a specialist police team moved in and were accompanied by an archaeology liaison officer. The search is due to resume today.

A police source revealed: “The earth which collapsed is around six feet by two feet and is exactly the same shape as a grave.

“There’s definitely something down there.”

It is understood the area was searched by police last year in connection with the search for Lisa’s body.

The pretty blonde disappeared after attending a party in a caravan park in Ballyhalbert in February 2005.

Since the shop assistant vanished, Lisa’s family have campaigned tirelessly for her killers to reveal where her body is buried.

A police spokeswoman confirmed a search was taking place but would not reveal any further details.

North Down DUP Assemblymember Alex Easton said people were worried.

“There’s a lot of anxiety in the local community at the reports that there could be a shallow grave and body,” he said.

Sunday Life

By Alan Murray
21 May 2006

Victims campaigner Willie Frazer says he hasn’t given up the fight to bring ‘Border Fox’ terrorist Dessie O’Hare before the courts in Northern Ireland.

Mr Frazer says he is continuing to press the Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde for a formal explanation as to why warrants for the ex-IRA and INLA gunman no longer exist.

He says he remains determined to have O’Hare investigated for crimes he allegedly committed before his imprisonment in Dublin 18 years ago.

“I want to know what happened to them,” said the Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR) spokesman.

“I want to know where they are and who decided that they should cease to be active warrants. If they have lapsed I want to see new warrants issued so this man can be questioned properly for the first time about the crimes his gang committed.

“A lot of decent honest good people were murdered by O’Hare’s gang and if Hugh Orde thinks FAIR will forget about that then he is wrong.

“The Finucane case is still being investigated 17 years after that murder,” he said.

Since Mr Frazer first raised the O’Hare case with the Police Ombudsman the PSNI has advised him to be careful about his movements in case of retaliation by the jailed kidnapper’s associates.

The FAIR spokesman was told by the Police Ombudsman that O’Hare won’t be arrested by the PSNI because warrants for his arrest no longer exist.

The PSNI has declined to discuss the O’Hare case since he turned up at his wife’s home in Newtownhamilton at the beginning of the month after being released from Castlerea Prison in the Republic in April.

DUP MPs Nigel Dodds and Jeffrey Donaldson are tabling questions about O’Hare’s presence in the border area.

Unionist peer Lord Laird is raising the issue in the House of Lords.

He has put down questions about the 1983 Gospel hall murders in Darkley and the 1977 murder of Margaret Hearst, a 24-year-old mother-of-one from Armagh, who was also a part-time member of the UDR.

Sunday Life

**First it’s a fake jacket, now ‘fake’ muscles–what next? See >>this post.

Top loyalist Andre Shoukri is facing losing jail privileges after being caught in possession of anabolic steroids and other pills.

The 29-year-old north Belfast UDA terror chief was detained by members of a prison riot squad at Maghaberry two weeks ago in the visiting area.

It’s understood the officers were rushed there after an eagle-eyed prison officer spotted Shoukri receiving a batch of pills from a visitor.

The exchange was recorded on CCTV and Shoukri’s visit was immediately cancelled.

Shoukri is awaiting trial on money-laundering, extortion and blackmail charges after he was arrested and questioned by detectives last November. Officers attached to the PSNI’s serious crimes unit have been investigating the finances of the north Belfast UDA for 12 months and have seized documents, including financial records relating to at least one business in the area.

In a statement, the Prison Service would only say that a prisoner at Maghaberry was observed with pills during a visit earlier this month.

“The prisoner was placed on report and the matter is still under investigation,” the statement said.

The Prison Service refused to say what pills had been seized but sources at the jail suggest anabolic steroid supplements and amphetamines were recovered on May 9.

Sunday Life

By Alan Murray
21 May 2006

The UDA is on the verge of a dangerous split after its ruling ‘inner council’ failed to meet last week.

The six-member body was expected to convene to confirm the outcome of a week-long investigation into allegations the north Belfast ‘brigade’ was continuing to run major criminal scams.

An announcement was expected on the future of brothers Andre and Ihab Shoukri, who run the UDA in the area.

Allegations of racketeering and claims that leading figures have pocketed tens of thousands of pounds from the terror group’s funds were made by veteran UDA members and members of the Ulster Political Research Group, the organisation’s political wing.

But it is understood churchmen and community workers based in one loyalist community countered the allegations, claiming the area was now largely free of crime compared to 18 months ago.

It was felt their evidence to the unprecedented hearings had cast doubt on allegations made against the north Belfast leadership.

But the failure of the inner council to meet last week to announce the outcome of the probe has raised concerns that the UDA is on the brink of a split.

Sources on the ground in the area say there was no contact between the inner council and the north Belfast brigade last week.

“There’s been nothing formal. Nobody knows about a meeting of the inner council, there’s been no contact, and, really, people aren’t worrying,” one local senior UDA figure said.

An attempt to force the removal of the current leadership in north Belfast would almost certainly provoke another internal feud and more bloodshed.

One man who supports the current leadership in the area said there was no serious likelihood of the rank-and-file membership rising up and expelling the north Belfast leadership.

“I don’t see it happening, except in the newspapers,” he said.

“If there’s a meeting of the inner council next week and the north Belfast brigade isn’t invited, then that probably means there’s a split, but we won’t have caused it.

“If the rest of the UDA wants to be led by south and east Belfast that’s up to them, but we won’t be going in that direction.”

Sunday Life

By Joe Oliver
21 May 2006

A water Service executive broke ranks last night to claim that the industry would be privatised by 2010.

And he warned that 800 jobs would be slashed in the process and householders - already struggling with rising rates and utilities bills - would face rocketing costs when a privatised company is given free rein.

The shock claims by the senior manager come as opposition mounts across the province to the introduction of water rates.

Already households can expect to pay an average £350-£400 when bills start dropping through letterboxes next April.

At the same time the Department for Regional Development will set up a new Government-owned company to be known as Northern Ireland Water Limited.

But our well-placed ‘mole’ revealed: “This step represents nothing more than a prelude to privatisation. It is being set up to handle the backlash of opposition to water charges, ensure a steady flow of income for improvement programmes, and to introduce efficiencies of between 20-40 per cent by 2010.

“The effect of this will be the loss of around 800 jobs, and you need look no further than a report commissioned by the DRD to see the real intention of water reform.”

That report ‘Strategic and Financial Review of Water Service’ was published last month.

And the consortium behind it, including bankers and accountants, stated: “We believe the weight of empirical evidence supports the conclusion that the greatest efficiency improvements are realised when companies enjoy independence from government.”

This would mean an “arms length relationship with no scope for political interference” but would rely on “private sector participation”.

Said our source: “This more than anything reveals the Government’s true hand and illustrates the intention to privatise the industry.”

Sunday Life

*I believe the principle is that ‘birds of a feather flock together’

By Alan Murray
21 May 2006

Former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has backed his successor’s controversial decision to bring the PUP’s David Ervine into his party’s Assembly grouping.

Lord Trimble said he was fully briefed about Sir Reg Empey’s decision last weekend and said he believed it was the right thing to do.

“I understand and support his decision,” he said yesterday.

“I wouldn’t have been First Minister without the votes of the PUP and the way Peter Hain has had the Standing Orders written for this Assembly left Reg with very little room to manoeuvre.”

Sir Reg’s decision came under fire from DUP leader Ian Paisley, who claimed that by linking with the PUP, which has ties to the UVF, the UUP were “allying” themselves with terrorism.

Perhaps even more worrying for Sir Reg, the Ulster Unionist’s sole MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon spoke in the House of Commons of her “deep distress” over the move.

But Lord Trimble said the UUP had had an understanding with the Progressive Unionists for more than a decade and Sir Reg’s decision was in keeping with that.

“We’ve had an understanding, indeed a coalition, with David Ervine, Billy Hutchinson and Hugh Smyth in the City Hall in Belfast for 13 to 15 years for the very same reason, to maximise the Unionist vote and bring advantage to the Unionist community.

“It’s been of huge political benefit to us there and we have benefited from it in the Assembly.”

He added: “I was fully briefed about the decision last weekend, as I believe were all senior members of the party, and I fully understand and support Reg’s decision”, he said.

Sunday Life

By Stephen Breen
21 May 2006

Ian Paisley was last night criticised for refusing to meet the father of a young girl sexually abused by a senior member of the Free Presbyterian Church in Canada.

‘John’ (not his real name), a former church deacon, travelled from Toronto last week in a bid to confront Dr Paisley over why the offender was not kicked out of the church.

But the Free P church in Belfast defended the decision not to meet the man, saying the matter was out of its “jurisdiction”.

Spokesman the Rev David McIlveen said: “We have said all along that this is a matter for the presbytery in North America. Dr Paisley meets people from all over the world and after considering the content of this request decided not to accede to it.

“I imagine it was hard for him to comment on the situation because he doesn’t know anything about it.”

But the father was angry he did not get the chance to meet the DUP leader.

His daughter - now in her 20s and living in Co Armagh - was 13 when she was abused by Free P Sunday school teacher Jeffrey Kruger in Toronto.

Kruger pleaded guilty to sexual interference and received a year’s house arrest and probation in 2003.

‘John’ said: “I’m very disappointed, the only thing I wanted was a few minutes of Dr Paisley’s time to tell him about my daughter’s case and the impact it has had on our family.

“The incident may have happened in Canada but Dr Paisley is leader of the church, this is an issue which is of relevance to him.”

Sunday Life

21 May 2006

Outed IRA spy Freddie ‘Stakeknife’ Scappaticci has been making frequent visits to a secret bolt-hole in PORTRUSH.

But his regular trips to the seaside resort have sparked a bitter war of words within the Security Services.

Furious MI5 officials have berated the Ministry of Defence after the former IRA ‘nutting squad’ boss and top Army agent moved into the seaside town.

Sunday Life has learned that Scappaticci, currently being investigated by the Stevens Inquiry, the Police Ombudsman and the PSNI in relation to various offences including murder, has been using the Co Antrim resort for rendezvous with family members.

He has been flying into various airports, but MI5 are said to be ‘livid’ and fear a Denis Donaldson-style assassination bid by disgruntled IRA members.

Scap has been spotted in Portrush on a number of occasions in recent weeks, by both police officers and by members of the public.

One Belfast man on a day trip to the town with his family said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Stakeknife “walking along the promenade as if he hadn’t a care in the world.”

He added: “I thought it was stupid. He was along with a woman and there were other people there too.”

There have been other sightings of the IRA’s most wanted man in the town in recent weeks.

Scap has been living between Manchester, where he has relatives, and the Italian town of Cassino, where his father came from.

He has also been sighted holidaying in the Canary islands.

But it is his weekend trips to Portrush which has set alarm bells ringing inside MI5.

A senior security source told Sunday Life: “It is utter madness for Scappaticci to even consider visiting Ireland, never mind Portrush.

“He may have thought he could melt into the background in what is an overwhelmingly unionist town but his face is so recognisable.

“MI5 are very unhappy with his frequent visits there and have made their feelings clear to the Ministry of Defence who are Scap’s spymasters.”

The top republican, who once struck fear into IRA active service units, was paid £80,000-a-year for passing on republican secrets to the British.

However he has been linked to up to 40 murders during his time as an agent and his role in killing IRA members ? many of whom were not informers ? has led to a number of police investigations.

Families of several Provos killed by Scap have also been demanding an internal IRA inquiry, which has been resisted by the group’s ruling Army Council.