Gerry Kelly MLA

That this House welcomes the judgment of 8 January 2024 of the High Court in Belfast in the case of Gerry Kelly MLA versus Malachi O'Doherty, throwing out a libel case brought by Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly in which he sought to prevent a journalist from stating that Mr Kelly had shot a prison officer during the Maze Prison escape in 1983; welcomes the description by the judge of Mr Kelly's case as scandalous, frivolous and vexatious; notes that the judgment found there was no damage to Mr Kelly's reputation, as he had served prison sentences for the 1973 Old Bailey bombings, is someone publicly identified as a former IRA member and has included material in his books which 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; further notes the judge's conclusion that 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; and acknowledges the positive impact such a judgement will have on freedom of expression for both the public and the press.