A solicitor secretly taped by police consulting with terrorist suspects appeared in court yesterday accused of attempting to incite a murder. Solicitor Manmohan Sandhu also faces four separate charges of perverting the course of public justice concerning a murder and an attempted murder.
The 41-year-old from Colby Avenue in Derry spoke only twice during the Antrim Magistrate's Court hearing, once to confirm his name and again to confirm he understood the charges.
Det Insp Tim Hanley, who is leading the investigation, admitted to Mr Sandhu's lawyer, Paul Dougan, that police had taped the solicitor during consultations he had had with a number of terrorist suspects.
Agreeing that a solicitor's meetings with clients should be confidential, Det Insp Hanley told magistrate Robert Alcorn that "given the seriousness and unusual nature of the offences I am satisfied that the police response was proportionate, lawful and necessary".
Mr Dougan initially asked the inspector, who claimed he could connect Mr Sandhu with the charges, had his client been interviewed 22 times since his initial arrest last Tuesday.
Det Insp Hanley, who said Mr Sandhu had replied "definitely not guilty" when charged, also confirmed the solicitor had "co-operated fully with the police". He also confirmed that during his interviews "70 plus tracks" recorded by an "evidential listening device" had been put to Mr Sandhu.
Det Insp Hanley agreed with Mr Dougan that the device had been placed in the solicitors' consulting room in the serious crime suite at Antrim police station The recordings were of a consultation Mr Sandhu had had with a number of persons who were arrested and were being questioned under terrorist legislation and suspected of serious crime.
It was after Mr Dougan asked Det Insp Hanley was he aware of RIPA - the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 - and the police's own policy document ensuring the confidentiality of solicitor-client meetings, that the detective said that while aware of them, the police had acted in a necessary and lawful way.
While remanded in custody to appear via video link at Antrim Magistrate's Court on February 28th, Mr Dougan said Mr Sandhu would be seeking high court bail tomorrow.
The Derry solicitor denies five charges between July and November last year. The first accuses him of perverting the course of justice on July 4th last year in that he sought to frustrate the police investigation into the murder of Jameson Lockhart.
Mr Lockhart was gunned down four days earlier by the UVF outside the Avenue One bar on east Belfast's Newtownards Road.
Charges two and three accuse Mr Sandhu, between August 18th and 25th last, of seeking to frustrate the police investigation into the August 19th attempted murder of Jonathan Hillier.
On charge four he is accused of frustrating the police investigation into Mr Lockhart's killing, this time on November 15th last.
The final count charges the solicitor that between August 18th and 25th last he "attempted to incite a person unknown to murder Jonathan Hillier".