A loyalist gunman convicted of a shooting in March 1998 today lost the final round of his legal battle for the right to be released from prison under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Stephen McClean is serving life for the murder of two men at the Railway Bar, Poyntzpass.
Convicted in February 2000, he was eligible for "accelerated release" under the Good Friday Agreement, having been convicted of offences motivated by political or sectarian factors.
He would have been freed in July 2000 but for a ruling by the Sentence Review Commissioners, who upheld argument by the Northern Ireland Secretary that the onus was on McClean to prove he was no longer a danger to the public, rather than the onus being on the secretary of state to prove that he was.
That ruling was reversed by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, which directed the minister to "prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the appellant, if released immediately, would be a danger to the public".
Today, the House of Lords overruled the appeal court and dismissed a cross-appeal by McClean in which he claimed the procedure he faced was unfair because he was not allowed to see the details of the "danger to the public" allegations.
McClean has been told that the withheld information relates to his alleged continued involvement in the affairs of the Loyalist Volunteer Force, and that to disclose the details would, among other things, be contrary to the interests of national security.
PA
