Sinn Féin says no concerted effort to silence anybody using libel actions

Michelle O'Neill refused to say whether the party would help Gerry Kelly pay costs from his failed libel case

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill has said there is no "concerted effort" by the party to "silence anybody" using libel actions.

She also refused to say in specific terms whether the party would help Gerry Kelly pay costs from his failed libel case against Malachi O'Doherty.

Mr Kelly sued over interviews in which it was said he had shot a prison officer during an escape in 1983.

Ms O'Neill said it is for individuals to decide whether to take a case.

"It's not about Sinn Féin supporting these cases," she added.

"It's about individuals defending their own names."

Gerry Kelly claimed comments made by Malachi O'Doherty gravely damaged his reputation

When asked whether Sinn Féin would contribute to Mr Kelly's legal costs, Ms O'Neill said it is for individuals to defend their own cases.

When asked again, she said her previous response had answered the question.

DUP assembly member David Brooks has called on Sinn Féin to answer "categorically" if it will be making any contribution towards the cost of the libel case brought by Mr Kelly.

"The truth will emerge when it becomes clear who is picking up the tab for Gerry Kelly's case as he will have his own legal costs as well as those of Dr O'Doherty," he added.

In an earlier statement provided to the Business Post, Sinn Féin had said it would not assist Mr Kelly with costs, adding: "Legal actions are entirely a matter for individuals, as we have made repeatedly clear."

'Everyone entitled to defend name'

The High Court in Belfast struck out Mr Kelly's case, describing it as "scandalous, frivolous and vexatious".

The ruling went on to characterise Mr Kelly's case as what is known as a Slapp action - Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

It stated that on balance, the proceedings "were initiated not for the genuine purposes of vindicating a reputation injured by defamatory statements, but rather for the purpose of stifling the voices of Mr Kelly's troublesome critics".

The case was one of a number of recent libel actions taken by Sinn Féin representatives against journalists and political opponents.

Ms O'Neill herself took a case against a DUP councillor last year, but was awarded no damages as the judge said the comments were misogynistic but not defamatory.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ms O'Neill said that "everybody's entitled to defend their good name".

"And if you feel if you've been defamed at any time then you are entitled as the law says to take a case, and I commend that to anybody who feels that's where they need to be," she said.

"I'm the Sinn Féin vice-president, I'm a senior member of the party, and I can assure you there is no joined-up, concerted effort to silence anybody - but I do defend anybody's right to defend their own name."

Why did Gerry Kelly lose his libel case?

Mr Kelly, an assembly member for north Belfast, said the ruling, published on Monday, was a "substantive judgement," which he would study with his lawyer.

He was one of 38 IRA prisoners who escaped from the Maze prison near Lisburn. During the break-out, prison officer John Adams was shot in the head.

Mr Kelly has never admitted shooting him and was found not guilty at a trial in 1987.

Malachi O'Doherty is a freelance writer and broadcaster based in Belfast

Mr Kelly had claimed Dr O'Doherty's comments, made in 2019, had gravely damaged his reputation and brought his standing as an assembly member into disrepute.

However, Dr O'Doherty pointed out that the prison officer had claimed Mr Kelly fired the shot.

He also argued there was no damage to Mr Kelly's reputation, as he had served prison sentences for the 1973 Old Bailey bombings and he is someone publicly identified as a former IRA member.

Mr Kelly has also written books which deal with the escape, although they conceal who fired the shot.

In the ruling, Master Evan Bell stated: "What Mr Kelly has written in his books, in my view, makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for him to rebut the argument that he was not a joint tortfeasor in respect of the battery.

"Even if one accepts Mr Kelly has not explicitly admitted pulling the trigger, the content of his books appears to make Mr Kelly civilly liable, on the balance of probabilities, for the shooting of Mr Adams.

"In the light of that, these defamation proceedings against Dr O'Doherty are completely untenable.

"For that reason the court strikes them out on the basis that they are scandalous, frivolous and vexatious."