Gerry Adams arrives at High Court for bombings trial

By Danny Halpin, Press Association Law Reporter

Gerry Adams has arrived at the High Court in London for the start of a civil trial in claims brought by three men injured in Provisional IRA bombings.

John Clark, a victim of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing in London, Jonathan Ganesh, a 1996 London Docklands bombing victim, and Barry Laycock, a victim of the 1996 Arndale shopping centre bombing in Manchester, all allege that Mr Adams was a leading member of the Provisional IRA on those dates, including of its Army Council.

The trio are bringing legal action against the former Sinn Fein president and are seeking just £1 in damages.

They claim Mr Adams “acted together with others in furtherance of a common design to bomb the British mainland” and was “directly responsible” in various roles within the Provisional IRA for decisions made to place devices in 1973 and 1996.

Mr Adams denies that he had any role in the Provisional IRA and is opposing the claim.

He arrived at the High Court in London on Monday morning for the first day of the trial which is expected to end next week.

Mr Adams was driven into the car park of the Royal Courts of Justice, wearing a grey waistcoat and red patterned tie, arriving shortly before 9.40am.

The 77-year-old is expected to give evidence in the claims on Friday.

Lawyers for the three bombing victims told a previous hearing that Mr Adams should be considered a representative of a class of people who “were members of the Provisional IRA/its Army Council between 1973 and 1996”.

The men also wanted to sue the Provisional IRA but Mr Justice Soole said that claim must be struck out because it is “not a legal entity”.