John Downey: 'No question' over fingerprints, says expert

Mr Downey is not being represented at court but in correspondence has denied any involvement

An expert has said there is "no question whatsoever" that John Downey's fingerprints are on car park tickets linked to the IRA Hyde Park bomb.

Five prints are identifiable on two tickets for the car used in the attack which killed four soldiers.

The Morris Marina was bought in London a week before the attack on 20 July 1982, by a man with an Irish accent.

The tickets were handed in at payment kiosks when it drove out of car parks at Portland Square and Royal Gardens.

They covered a two-day period leading up to and including the day of the bombing.

The 25lb (11kg) bomb, packed with nails, was hidden in the car's boot and was detonated by remote control as soldiers of the Household Cavalry rode past, killing four of them.

Thirty-one people were injured and seven horses had to be put down due to their blast injuries.

Four Household Cavalry soldiers died in the IRA's Hyde Park bomb attack as they rode to the Changing of Guard ceremony in Whitehall

Mr Downey, who is 67, is not represented in court but in correspondence has denied any involvement.

The civil case, which seeks to establish if he is liable, has been brought by the daughter of one of the soldiers killed, on behalf of other relatives and victims.

Fingerprint expert Stephen Hughes told the High Court in London that the quality of the five prints "varies, but they are all identifiable".

He examined the original car park tickets from 1982 against fingerprints the Metropolitan Police took from Mr Downey when he was arrested in 2013.

"I have absolutely no question whatsoever they are made by the same person," Mr Hughes said.

Lord Brennan QC, who is acting for Sarah Jane Young who brought the case, said the fingerprint evidence was served on Mr Downey in preparation for the hearing.

"He has totally failed ever to deal with it," he told the court.

The lawyer told Mrs Justice Yip that it was "common sense" that someone involved with the movement of the bomb car "was a principal party" in the attack.

In a written submission to the court, Mr Downey stated he had been subjected to "a 30-year police policy" to attach his name to the Hyde Park bombing.

But Lord Brennan said that had nothing to do with the civil action which was founded on the fingerprint evidence.

In 2014, a criminal prosecution against Mr Downey collapsed in controversial circumstances.

It did so after it emerged that Mr Downey had received an assurance from the government that he was not wanted in connection with any offence.

So-called "on-the-run" letters were issued as part of the Northern Ireland peace agreement in 1998.

Who are the "on-the-runs"?

The Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement of 1998 meant anyone convicted of paramilitary crimes was eligible for early release.

However, that did not cover those suspected of such crimes, nor did it cover people who had been charged or convicted but who had escaped from prison.

Negotiations continued after the signing of the agreement between Sinn Féin and the government over how to deal with those known as "on-the-runs".

Sinn Féin sought a scheme that would allow escaped prisoners and those who were concerned they might be arrested to return to the UK but a formal legal solution proved difficult to establish in the face of strong unionist opposition.

Against that backdrop, the IRA had still not put its weapons beyond use and Sinn Féin needed grassroots republicans to continue supporting the peace process.

The hearing of evidence in the case has now been completed.

The judge, Mrs Justice Yip, will deliver her judgement next Wednesday.