Latest news with #DaithíMcKay
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nama trial: Judge who said Bryson lied in court will take no action
The judge who accused loyalist activist Jamie Bryson of lying under oath in court has decided not to take any action against of Mr Bryson's evidence in a recent four-week trial was deemed untruthful by Judge Gordon a new statement issued from the Lady Chief Justice's Office, a spokesperson said: "Judge Kerr KC has advised 'I do not intend to take or propose any further action in relation to Mr Bryson'."Mr Bryson welcomed the decision and said he had told the truth. The loyalist activist was acquitted on 3 July, along with former Sinn Féin assembly member Daithí McKay, of a charge related to misconduct in public office. Although he was cleared, the judge said Mr Bryson had lied during the trial about the extent of his contacts with Mr McKay during the period under case related to a Stormont committee hearing in September 2015 on the National Asset Management Agency, known as the judge has decided not to propose action against Mr Bryson over his evidence at the trial, that is not necessarily the end of the matter.A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service said: "It is a matter for police to determine whether there is any basis for further investigation."There has been no comment from the Police Service of Northern Ireland since the statement by Judge Bryson has denied lying in court and insisted he told the truth at all part of his evidence that the judge did not believe related to his dealings in 2015 with Mr McKay and his Sinn Féin colleague Thomas O' Bryson told the court he did not realise that when he was sending messages to Mr O'Hara, they were being relayed directly to Mr McKay. The judge did not believe him, and said he "lied on oath".The judge added: "Mr Bryson may have his reasons for lying. "He has lived with this for 10 years, the investigation and charges for five. He has moved on and is seeking a new career."It may be that he felt by distancing himself from Mr McKay it would help him."Throughout his trial, Mr Bryson insisted he did nothing wrong and he maintained all his actions regarding the Stormont committee were political not O'Hara was also acquitted. 'Stirred up by online trolls' In a statement, Mr Bryson said: "I welcome how quickly HHJ Kerr has dealt with this matter, which was a side show stirred up mainly by online trolls. "I maintain that I told the truth and also my respectful disagreement with that one specific comment. "But I thank Judge Kerr for the fair way he has dealt with the trial and how expeditiously he has also put this issue to bed."
BreakingNews.ie
03-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson and ex-Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay found not guilty in ‘Nama trial'
Three men have been cleared at Belfast Crown Court of charges relating to misconduct in public office. Loyalist activist Jamie 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, relating to a Stormont committee hearing that examined the sale of the National Asset Management Agency's (Nama) Northern Ireland assets in 2015. Advertisement Daithí McKay arrives at Belfast Crown Court for an earlier hearing. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Former Sinn Féin MLA Daithí 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 Féin activist in north Antrim. Mr McKay quit as an MLA within hours of the Twitter messages being published in August 2016. Advertisement 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 (€1.4 billion). Business 'Bad bank' Nama on course to have returned €5.5bn... Read More 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. Advertisement Delivering his judgment in the non-jury trial on Thursday, Judge Gordon Kerr KC cleared all three of the charges they faced.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
What was the Nama trial involving Jamie Bryson and Daithí McKay?
When loyalist Jamie Bryson and republican Daithí McKay sat beside each other in the dock at Belfast Crown Court for the first time, the courtroom briefly fell two men from opposite ends of the political spectrum were now only inches well-known loyalist and the former high-profile Sinn Féin politician nodded at each then faced forward towards the judge, Gordon Kerr KC, as their trial began, in the middle of May this their lives, Mr Bryson and Mr McKay had been on different sides but now they had the same aim – to prove their innocence. What were the allegations against Bryson and McKay? It was alleged they were involved in a conspiracy to manipulate how evidence was presented to a Stormont may seem like a plot from the TV sitcom Give My Head Peace - a loyalist and a prominent 'Shinner' working together in secret and breaking the law – but that is the allegation they men cleared of charges in Nama trialOn the first day of the trial, prosecution barrister Toby Hedworth KC set out what they were accused of said they tried "to subvert the rules of procedure of Stormont's Finance Committee for the purpose of seeking to cause considerable political embarrassment to the then first minister [Peter Robinson] and others".The barrister added: "One of its proponents was the chair of the committee himself [Daithí McKay], no doubt enjoying the opportunity for point scoring against a political rival." The case at Belfast Crown Court dated back to events which happened almost 10 years chair of the committee, Mr McKay was in a key position when Mr Bryson offered to give evidence to one of its hearings.A year after the hearing, the Irish News reported that Mr McKay had secretly "coached" Mr Bryson about how to present his true, was this a criminal act? Or simply political?In many ways, that was the central question in the four-week prosecution insisted what happened was not "part of the rough and tumble of politics".They argued that rules of procedure had been breached, and potentially a police inquiry was put at McKay was accused of misconduct in public office. Mr Bryson faced a conspiracy charge related to the alleged misconduct.A third man, Thomas O'Hara, a Sinn Féin member and friend of Mr McKay, was also in the dock. He too faced a conspiracy was alleged to be a link between Mr Bryson and Mr McKay, relaying information ahead of the committee hearing on 23 September committee was investigating the Northern Ireland property portfolio of the National Assets Management Agency (Nama). Committee member's concern Although Mr Bryson offered to give evidence, there was nervousness among committee members about what he might were raised about him making allegations without evidence, and whether his remarks might impinge upon an ongoing investigation by the National Crime committee debated whether it would be better to hear Mr Bryson in prosecution said a series of private messages exchanged on Twitter showed that Mr Bryson was guided by Mr McKay and Mr O'Hara about how to ensure his evidence could be heard in one point, Mr Bryson was alleged to have written: "Who would ever have thought it, me and SF working together as the DUP squirm! Unreal!"During his appearance at the committee, Mr Bryson made an allegation about Mr Robinson, which the then Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader later denied and described as "scurrilous".While the high-profile loyalist has remained a prominent figure in the subsequent 10 years, Mr McKay has slipped from the public quit the Assembly after the claims were made about secret contacts with Mr Bryson. Long and complex court case A police investigation began and, eventually, the case ended up in Bryson admitted being involved in text exchanges but insisted there was no conspiracy, no agreed plan and therefore no criminality. It was political not criminal activity, he O'Hara admitted involvement in the exchanges but said he was just a go-between, and was "used" by Mr McKay to pass on messages from for Mr McKay, he chose not to give evidence in the three men denied the charges against was a long and complex of the events may have seemed like something from a fictional script, but this was involved Stormont, social media, the police, the courts and two well-known political is a story that could, after all, end up being retold in a TV drama one day.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nama trial: Ex-Sinn Fein worker says he was Jamie Bryson go-between
A former Sinn Féin election worker for Daithí McKay has told a court he was "used" as a go-between to send secret messages to loyalist activist Jamie O'Hara told Belfast Crown Court he thought the plan was "mad" as Mr Bryson was "not the biggest lover of the Shinners", but went along with it in September said Mr McKay, who was chair of Stormont's Finance Committee at the time, assured him there was "nothing criminal" about passing on the McKay, Mr O'Hara and Mr Bryson deny charges related to misconduct in public office and have been on trial for the past three weeks. The case centres on a meeting of the Finance Committee on 23 September 2015, at which Mr Bryson gave evidence about how Northern Ireland property loans were handled by the National Asset Management Agency, known as prosecution say the procedural rules of the committee were is alleged that a series of direct messages exchanged on Twitter before the meeting were evidence of a Bryson has admitted sending a series of private messages to the accounts of Mr McKay and Mr O'Hara but insisted he did not break any laws. 'Daithí McKay asked me for a favour' Mr O'Hara, who gave evidence for the first time to the court on Tuesday, insisted he was simply a conduit between Mr McKay and Mr Bryson, copying and pasting messages from one to the other."I just done what I was asked," he told the court."He (Mr McKay) said to me: 'Don't worry about it, it's nothing that serious, it's nothing criminal.'" Mr O'Hara, 40, from Lisnahunshin Road, Cullybackey, is a self-employed plasterer who lives with his mother. He told the court he has dyslexia and left school at 16 with no joined Sinn Féin in 2006 and said he had helped Mr McKay when he was an MLA by working in his constituency, canvassing and putting up election 2015, he said Mr McKay rang him and asked for a "favour", copying and pasting messages to and from Jamie court was told that private messages on Twitter had previously been directly exchanged between Mr Bryson and Mr McKay, but then Mr O'Hara became involved. 'I think he used me' It is alleged that Mr McKay told Mr Bryson to follow Mr O'Hara's Twitter account and they then exchanged a series of detailed messages before the committee meeting on 23 September court was told these included suggestions on how to present O'Hara was asked if he wrote the replied: "No, I didn't. Daithí McKay did."He was asked if he was worried that what he was doing was criminal."No, because he reassured me it wasn't," said Mr O' insisted he did not understand the messages he was passing on as they had "too many big words". Asked if he still regarded Mr McKay as one of his friends, he said: "No, I do not. I think he used me."Mr O'Hara denies a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public court was told by a psychologist who assessed Mr O'Hara that he has an extremely low IQ and a reading age of the view of the psychologist, it was "very unlikely" that Mr O'Hara composed the messages sent from his account to Mr Bryson. All evidence now heard The non-jury trial, in front of Judge Gordon Kerr KC, began last Bryson, 35, from Rosepark, Donaghadee denies a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public McKay, 43, from Loughan Road, Dunnamanagh, denies actual the committee meeting in 2015, Mr Bryson made an allegation about the then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Peter Robinson, which was later denied and described by the politician as "scurrilous".The prosecution say Mr Bryson and Mr McKay were involved in an attempt to undermine the rules of the committee, in order to cause "considerable political embarrassment" to a number of people including Mr in the trial, when Mr Bryson gave evidence, he said he was not aware that Mr O'Hara had been acting as an alleged "back channel" to Mr McKay. After Mr O'Hara had been cross-examined, the court was told Mr McKay would not be giving evidence in the trial has now been heard and the case has been re-listed for final submissions on Monday Kerr said he hopes to give his judgement by the end of June.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Nama trial: Jamie Bryson denies leaking secret messages to newspaper
Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson has denied leaking secret messages he exchanged with a Sinn Féin politician to a newspaper to try to cause political his trial at Belfast Crown Court, he said he did not know how private messages on Twitter with Sinn Féin's Daithí McKay in 2015 ended up being published in The Irish News a year Bryson also rejected the accusation that he broke the law in his dealings with Mr McKay who was the chair of the finance committee at Stormont at the time."It was entirely the cut and thrust of politics," he said. "There are many things that go on in the world of politics, day in day out, that would make your hair curl, but they're not criminal offences."Mr Bryson, 35, from Rosepark, Donaghadee denies a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office in September McKay, 43, from Loughan Road, Dunnamanagh, denies a charge of misconduct in public Crown's case is that Mr McKay and Mr Bryson manipulated how evidence was presented to a committee meeting on 23 September the committee, Mr Bryson spoke about how Northern Ireland property loans were handled by the National Asset Management Agency, known as Nama. He made an allegation about the then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Peter Robinson, which was later denied and described by the politician as "scurrilous".The prosecution say Mr Bryson and Mr McKay were involved in an attempt to subvert the rules of the committee, in order to cause "considerable political embarrassment" to a number of people including Mr Robinson. At the centre of the case are screenshots of direct messages said to have been exchanged on Twitter between Mr Bryson and Mr McKay before the committee meeting in question in of their existence first emerged almost a year later when the Irish News published a story by journalist Allison Morris claiming that Sinn Féin had "coached" Mr Bryson before the committee barrister Toby Hedworth KC pressed Mr Bryson on how the Irish News learned of the Twitter messages which were detailed in the newspaper Bryson responded: "I did not provide those messages to Allison Morris."He insisted there was nothing untoward about his contact with Stormont politicians, on all sides, on issues of told the court it was "standard political procedure". Bryson denies any deals with McKay Mr McKay was a high-profile member of Sinn Féin in Bryson has admitted sending him private messages but denied making any deals with court was told that in a police interview during the investigation into the case, Mr Bryson described the screenshots of the messages as "potentially doctored images on social media".In court, Mr Bryson said he accepted that he exchanged messages, the screenshots at the centre of the case were "not a complete transcript, not a complete picture".Another man, who was a Sinn Féin member at the time, is also on O'Hara, 41, from Lisnahunshin Road, Cullybackey, faces a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, which he Crown alleges he, like Mr McKay, was involved in an exchange of messages with Mr Bryson in the run up to the committee Bryson told the court that Mr McKay then put him in contact with Mr O' was suggested that Mr O'Hara's role as a Sinn Féin worker meant he operated as a "back channel" to Mr McKay, but Mr Bryson rejected non-jury trial, in front of Judge Gordon Kerr KC, began last judge has told Mr Bryson to focus on answering the questions which he is asked and not to give trial continues.
