Man charged over papers on IRA

A 48-year-old man was charged in Belfast yesterday with possessing copies of documents issued to the security forces about IRA…

A 48-year-old man was charged in Belfast yesterday with possessing copies of documents issued to the security forces about IRA suspects.

Mr James Elliott, from Highdene Gardens, Belfast, was accused of possessing the documents between July 1998 and their discovery last April during a planned search of a house in the north of the city.

The charge alleged that the documents could be useful to terrorists, as they included copies of security force montages and details about the identity of people suspected of being in the IRA. A detective told the Magistrate's Court that when Mr Elliott was charged he replied: "Definitely not guilty." He was remanded in custody for a month.