Bryson and McKay found not guilty in ‘Nama trial'
Daithi McKay arrives at Belfast Crown Court for an earlier hearing (Liam McBurney/PA)
Former Sinn Fein MLA Daithi McKay, 43, from Loughan Road in Dunnamanagh – who was chair of the finance committee at the time, was found not guilty of misconduct in public office.
The long-running Nama trial had related to Mr Bryson's 2015 appearance before the Stormont committee, chaired by Mr McKay, which was investigating the sale of the Nama's Northern Ireland assets to a US investment fund.
The criminal probe was launched after the publication of leaked Twitter messages between Mr Bryson, Mr McKay and the account of Mr O'Hara, who at the time was a Sinn Fein activist in north Antrim.
Mr McKay quit as an MLA within hours of the Twitter messages being published in August 2016.
The Stormont Finance Committee inquiry was set up in 2015 amid political controversy over the multimillion-pound sale of Nama's property portfolio north of the border.
Nama, the so-called bad bank created by the Irish government to deal with the toxic loans of bailed-out lenders during the economic crash, sold its 800 Northern Ireland-linked properties to investment fund Cerberus for £1.2 billion.
Giving evidence to the committee in 2015, Mr Bryson used Assembly privilege to name former DUP leader Peter Robinson as a beneficiary of the sale.
The then-first minister of Northern Ireland strongly rejected any suggestion he benefited from the deal. All other parties involved in the transaction also denied wrongdoing.
Delivering his judgment in the non-jury trial on Thursday, Judge Gordon Kerr KC cleared all three of the charges they faced.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
More than 100 officers were hurt in Northern Ireland riots
More than 100 police officers were injured during recent rioting in Northern Ireland, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has revealed. Mr Boutcher said the actions of his officers had saved lives during the first night of racist violence in Ballymena last month. However, he warned that a budget crisis facing the force means that its reliance on external support is apparent. Violence erupted in Ballymena in June after an alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town. Two 14-year-old boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, were charged with attempted rape. A peaceful protest in the Co Antrim town about the alleged assault was followed by attacks on police and properties housing ethnic minorities, described by police as 'racist thuggery'. The disturbances lasted for several nights and spread to other areas of Northern Ireland including Portadown, Larne, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry and Coleraine. Police also dealt with several nights of sectarian disorder in Londonderry. Speaking during the monthly accountability meeting of the Policing Board, Mr Boutcher said Northern Ireland had experienced 'widespread racially and sectarian motivated rioting and disorder' in the past month. He said: 'In disgraceful scenes reminiscent of last summer, we saw hate-filled mobs throw petrol bombs, masonry, fireworks, an axe, at police officers, targeting homes and businesses. 'They targeted law-abiding, decent families from diverse communities who make Northern Ireland a better place, creating fear in people who simply want to live in peace. 'I can confirm the final number of injured officers as 107, many with head injuries from masonry and other missiles.' He added: 'There is no place for such violence, these actions were not about protest, they were attacks on the very fabric of our society. 'What sort of Northern Ireland do we want to live in?' The Chief Constable said every incident during the disturbances was being treated as a racially or sectarian motivated hate crime. He said: 'To date 56 arrests have been made and 27 individuals remanded into custody. 'More will follow as we pursue those responsible and bring them to justice. 'The deterrents of long prison sentences will be a sobering reality for many of those involved. 'Our own no-nonsense approach of arresting suspects with the swift release of suspect images had a further powerful deterrent effect.' 'We will use the most appropriate tactics, including AEP (attenuating energy projectiles) and water cannon to protect communities and my officers from harm. 'Our approach will be robust and it will be consistently applied.' Mr Boutcher referred to commentary suggesting rioters were treated differently in separate parts of Northern Ireland. He said: 'I want to be absolutely clear, we respond to public disorder without fear or favour. 'There is no difference to our approach based on the background or motivation of those involved. 'To suggest otherwise removes the focus of condemnation where it rightfully belongs, upon those using violence and spreading hate. 'It is crucial we are collectively seen to be unequivocal in standing together against these cowardly acts of racism, hatred and violence.' The Chief Constable continued: 'On that first night of disorder in Ballymena… officers of the PSNI saved people's lives and they put their own lives at risk to do that. 'We did not have enough officers there because we are not sufficiently resourced and that has got to change.' Mr Boutcher referred to mutual aid arrangements which led to officers from Police Scotland being sent to Northern Ireland during the rioting. He said: 'That mutual aid was required and again highlights the unacceptable fragility of our own resourcing. 'Our reliance on external support has never been more apparent.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Bryson and McKay cleared in Nama trial
Three men, including loyalist activist Jamie Bryson and former Sinn Fein MLA Daithi McKay, have been cleared at Belfast Crown Court of charges relating to misconduct in public office. Mr Bryson, 35, from Rosepark in Donaghadee, and co-accused Thomas O'Hara, 41, from Lisnahunshin Road in Cullybackey, were found not guilty of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. The charges had related to a Stormont committee hearing that examined the sale of the National Asset Management Agency's (Nama) Northern Ireland assets in 2015. Mr McKay, 43, from Loughan Road in Dunnamanagh – who was chairman of the finance committee at the time – was found not guilty of misconduct in public office. Mr Bryson and Mr McKay said there are now questions for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) over why the prosecution was brought. The PPS has said the available evidence had indicated it was in the public interest to prosecute. Trial judge Gordon Kerr KC said he believed Mr Bryson had lied while giving evidence in the case, but said he was not involved in a criminal conspiracy. The long-running Nama trial had related to Mr Bryson's 2015 appearance before the Stormont committee, chaired by Mr McKay, which was investigating the sale of Nama's Northern Ireland assets to a US investment fund. The criminal probe was launched after the publication of leaked Twitter messages between Mr Bryson, Mr McKay and the account of Mr O'Hara, who at the time was a Sinn Fein activist in north Antrim. Mr McKay quit as an MLA within hours of the Twitter messages being published in August 2016. The Stormont Finance Committee inquiry was set up in 2015 amid political controversy over the multimillion-pound sale of Nama's property portfolio. Nama, the so-called bad bank created by the Irish government to deal with the toxic loans of bailed-out lenders during the economic crash, sold its 800 Northern Ireland-linked properties to investment fund Cerberus for £1.2 billion. Giving evidence to the committee in 2015, Mr Bryson used Assembly privilege to name former DUP leader Peter Robinson as a beneficiary of the sale. The then-first minister of Northern Ireland strongly rejected any suggestion he benefited from the deal. All other parties involved in the transaction also denied wrongdoing. Delivering his judgment in the non-jury trial on Thursday, the judge said: 'Despite his lies in court, I am sure that Mr Bryson was at all times communicating with Mr McKay. 'I am sure that the communications were designed to give Mr Bryson the best advice and guidance to maximise his chances of giving evidence. 'My analysis of the messages do not show any occasion where Mr McKay undertook to say or do anything outside his duties as chairman to ensure Mr Bryson's evidence would be in open session. 'Clearing Mr Bryson, the judge said the evidence did not establish there had been a criminal conspiracy between him and Mr McKay. He said: 'In the absence of an agreement, the conspiracy charge must fail.' Turning to Mr McKay, the judge said there was 'no doubt he deliberately misled the committee to ease the way for Mr Bryson's presentation'. The judge pointed out the Assembly had its own code of conduct and said there was 'no precedent for a prosecution in these circumstances'. Clearing Mr McKay, he added: 'I do not consider it my role to expand the offence.' The judge said the evidence against Mr O'Hara 'fell well short' of anything which would convince him of his guilt.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
NI Communities Minister attacks ‘shameful' welfare reform plans
The Government's 'shameful' welfare reform plans will end up increasing the social security bill in Northern Ireland rather than generating any savings, the Communities Minister has said. Gordon Lyons said the Labour Government had made an 'incredible mess' of its welfare reform agenda. On a separate issue related to the benefits system, Mr Lyons said he had received confirmation from the Treasury that Stormont could potentially share in savings achieved by any Stormont-devised plan to target fraud around benefit payments in Northern Ireland. The minister said he would now proceed with a business case on a fraud prevention plan with the hope of getting it on the agenda of the Executive for consideration. At an appearance before his Assembly scrutiny committee, the minister also said that the Government's U-turn on eligibility for winter fuel payments for pensioners would result in 86% of pensioners in Northern Ireland (288,000) receiving the payment this coming winter – a proportion higher than the UK average of 80%. Facing questions from MLAs at Stormont on Thursday, Mr Lyons also defended his own department's recently published draft poverty strategy, a document that has faced criticism from several community and civic society organisations. The DUP minister's appearance came days after the UK Government was forced into a late climbdown on a central plank of its welfare reform agenda in a bid to avert a major backbench rebellion. In a late concession on Tuesday, only 90 minutes before MPs were to vote on the Bill, ministers shelved plans to restrict eligibility for the personal independence payment (Pip), with any changes now only coming after a review of the benefit. Mr Lyons was scathing of the Government's approach while giving evidence to the committee. 'I think it is important that I place on record just how appalled I am by this Labour Government and how they have conducted themselves over the last number of months,' he said. 'I believe their approach has been shameful. I believe that it has caused significant stress for many in our society, even those who I believe would never have been affected by the changes that have been proposed and those that perhaps would have been. 'It has caused a huge amount of stress.' The minister added: 'We're at very early stages of assessment, but we believe ultimately that it will end up costing, it will not create any saving at all in Northern Ireland. 'So, I think that that has been an incredible mess, they've made a real hames of it, if I'm being honest.' On the winter fuel payments, Mr Lyons said: 'There are 336,000 pensioners in Northern Ireland and HMRC are now estimating that 86% or 288,000 will receive the winter fuel payment in 25/26 because they have an income of less than £35,000. 'Twenty per cent will not receive it in the UK as a whole, that is only 14% in Northern Ireland. Again, another mess by this Government. It was inevitable that they would have had to have changed course.' The minister said he had received confirmation on Thursday that Northern Ireland could potentially have a share of savings generated by any welfare fraud measures taken by the Executive. 'If there are savings through us tackling welfare fraud and error that are certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Treasury will consider providing for us a share of those savings,' he said. 'And those savings are massive. 'A very, very small amount of money that we put in (to introduce fraud prevention measures) and you can get incredible savings from those. 'So that could be a net benefit to Northern Ireland. We will be progressing that business case. 'I have a paper with the Executive. I hope it will get on the agenda, because I think that could be very, very important.' Mr Lyons faced several questions on his draft anti-poverty strategy. The minister said he respected those who had criticised it, but made clear he did not agree with several of the claims that had been made about the plan lacking ambition and targets. He said he remained open during the public consultation phase to listening to alternative proposals. SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan put it to the minister that Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O'Neill had appeared to distance herself from his proposed strategy. Mr Lyons said he never encountered any 'push back' from Executive colleagues when the draft proposals were presented to ministerial colleagues for consideration. 'I think it's safe to say there was not a lengthy debate around this issue, and I certainly left that Executive meeting believing there was good consensus on the way forward, and that we were open to consultation on this and to listening to what people had to say, and that there was broad agreement on what we had in front of us,' he said. 'I listen to what others have to say. I will do that through the consultation period, but I was not getting push-back at all within the Executive and I believe that there was good unity among Executive colleagues. 'I understand people can come under a bit of pressure, and they can change their positions, or they want to be seen to be on the right side, but I've taken on board all of the criticisms that have been made of this, and we will certainly listen to those. 'I believe a lot of those don't have a basis in reality. 'I hope I've explained and I've reassured the committee today about the approach that I am taking. 'But if anybody inside or outside the Executive have changes that they want to make to that that they haven't expressed to me so far, I'm open to listening to those, but I hope that they will also be willing to provide the funding that is necessary if it comes at an additional cost as well.'
