On 18th October, the Supreme Court gave its judgment on this issue.

The link is provided below.

In summary, Robert and David Stewart provided evidence by which a number of  alleged Loyalist paramilitary  persons were prosecuted. In return, the tariff for their life sentences for admitted murder, were set at three years -a reduction of 75%.

When they gave evidence, nobody was convicted on the basis of their testimony, Gillen J. being scathing of their reliability.

The PPS, in the form of the then deputy director, declined to refer their cases back to the sentencing judge.

Jason Loughlin, one of the accused began judicial review proceedings to challenge that decision.

The Court in Belfast , made up of  Morgan , Weir and Tracey, quashed the PPS decision.

The PPS appealed to the Supreme Court. Lord Kerr, former Lord Chief Justice, gave the judgment , with which the other four Justices agreed.

He said that the conclusion reached in Belfast was erroneous.

The result is that the Stewart brothers will not be re-sentenced , despite giving evidence which Gillen J characterised as lies to the police and to the court.

The provisions of  section 74 the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 were meant to place “super grasses” on a statutory, well defined and tightly controlled basis.

The public might well wonder if this decision and the shambles re Heggarty tolls the death knell for this particular form of prosecuting in terrorist cases in Northern Ireland.

There may well be dancing in the streets of Mount Vernon this week but there will be dismay among those who had hoped for something better , given the vast sums ploughed into these cases.

Read the summary and the judgment by searching the link:

http://supremecourt.uk/decided-cases/index.html