Judge dismisses prisoner's case

A test case by Brighton bomber Patrick Magee ended in the High Court in Belfast yesterday after free legal aid was withdrawn

A test case by Brighton bomber Patrick Magee ended in the High Court in Belfast yesterday after free legal aid was withdrawn. Magee's action over the rights of prisoners transferred from English jails to Northern Ireland was dismissed by Mr Justice Kerr.

Magee (35), from Ardoyne, Belfast, was given eight life sentences in 1986 for his part in the IRA plot to bomb the British Cabinet during the Tory Party conference in Brighton in 1984.

He had sought a judicial review challenging the refusal of the British Home Secretary, Mr Michael Howard, to grant compassionate release from Maghaberry Prison, where he was transferred two years ago, to attend his father's funeral last September.

His solicitor, Ms Patricia Drinan, said prisoners under Mr Howard's jurisdiction received different treatment from those under the jurisdiction of the Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew. "These issues will have to be brought before the court again", she said.