Move to release Adair challenged

A bid by UDA commander Johnny Adair to be released from prison will be challenged by the British government at an oral hearing in Maghaberry jail today.

Adair was released from prison in September 1999 as part of the prisoner release scheme created under the Belfast Agreement. He had served five years and four months of a 16-year sentence for directing terrorist operations.

However, the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, ordered the rearrest of Adair at the height of the loyalist feud last summer, claiming he had breached the terms of his early release.

Last month, the Sentence Review Commission made a preliminary ruling that there were insufficient grounds for keeping Adair in jail. Mr Mandelson immediately challenged the decision.

It is understood that the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and several police officers will be called as witnesses by government lawyers trying to prevent Adair's release.

Meanwhile, Adair's supporters believe his release is imminent. Ulster Democratic Party spokesman Mr John White, who will give evidence on Adair's behalf, said he was confident the commissioners would reinforce their preliminary decision to free Adair.

"I said from the outset that it was wrong to return Mr Adair to prison and I think the Secretary of State made a serious mistake when he did that. He should now rectify it," he said.

"When the sentencing review commissioners looked at the evidence put before them by the NIO they saw then it wasn't strong enough to revoke Mr Adair's licence.

"The Secretary of State should have done the honourable thing then and released Mr Adair." Lawyers for Mr Mandelson will seek to overturn the commission's preliminary findings, arguing that the decision to return Adair to prison was based on sound security advice.

The private hearing is expected to last two days.