IAN PAISLEY jnr has repeated that he will not disclose the name of a prison officer who supplied him with information relating to the murder of Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright.
The DUP Assembly member reasserted that he was prepared to go to prison rather than reveal the name of his source after he was served with a summons at Stormont yesterday over his failure to comply with an order from the Billy Wright inquiry. The summons was a “notice of motion to punish for contempt” over his refusal to name the prison officer. Mr Paisley is required to appear before the Belfast High Court this morning to deal with the demand for disclosure.
Two years ago Mr Paisley received information from a senior prison officer about the alleged destruction of thousands of documents shortly after Wright’s murder by the INLA at the Maze prison in December 1997. This information was then passed to David Wright, father of the murdered LVF leader.
Lord MacLean, chairman of the inquiry, requested details about who supplied Mr Paisley with this information, and was supported in his demand by the High Court when the MLA refused to provide the officer’s name. Mr Paisley faces a range of potential penalties including heavy fines or prison. He said he believed the courts understood the dilemma that confronted him.
“I can’t give the name of my sources, it would not be the credible thing to do, it would not be the honest thing to do, it would not be the just thing to do,” Mr Paisley repeated yesterday. “If the courts think it is the sensible and credible thing for them to do, to put a public representative in jail for the first time on the issue of contempt like this, the public would see that as completely and totally over-reacting,” he added.
“Wouldn’t it be devastating for justice that a public representative doing the right thing went to jail, and was the only person that went to jail, because of the Billy Wright tribunal?
“I think that would make a laughing stock out of the tribunal,” said Mr Paisley.