A High Court defamation action brought by former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams against the BBC is set to be heard by a jury next spring.
Mr Justice Alexander Owens gave the case a two-week slot from April 29th, 2025.
Lawyers for the British public broadcaster said there will be a large number of witnesses appearing at the trial, some of whom will be travelling from overseas. Barrister Hugh McDowell, for the BBC, said the case would take up to three weeks.
In his case initiated seven years ago, Mr Adams alleges the BBC defamed him by falsely claiming he sanctioned the killing of ex-Sinn Féin official Denis Donaldson (55), who worked for decades as a British spy.
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Donaldson was shot dead inside an isolated cottage near Glenties, Co Donegal, in April 2006, some months after being exposed as an MI5 agent.
Mr Adams’s case takes issue with allegations against him being made in a 2016 BBC Spotlight programme and in an article on the broadcaster’s website. The claims were made by an anonymous source, referred to as “Martin”, who claimed to be a paid British agent while an IRA member.
The BBC denies defamation. It maintains that the publications were put out in good faith and concerned a subject of public and vital interest. The reports constitute responsible journalism that was the result of careful investigation, it says.
The court has previously heard the broadcaster will argue Mr Adams was a leading member of the IRA during its campaign of violence throughout the Troubles and that he had a history of not condemning the killing of informers.
Mr Adams has at all times denied any involvement in Mr Donaldson’s death, which dissident republicans claimed responsibility for in 2009. He claims all allegations connecting him or the IRA to the death are attempts to discredit republicans.
When the defamation case was mentioned before the High Court on Thursday, both sides agreed it was ready to receive a date for trial.
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