A convicted killer lost a court action yesterday seeking permission to be at the birth of his child next week. James Kelly's application for judicial review was dismissed in the High Court in Belfast.
Mr Justice Kerr said he sympathised with Kelly's desire to be present at the birth but under prison rules it was open to the authorities not to regard attendance at birth as a "special purpose" qualifying for temporary release.
Kelly (29), from Derry, is serving a life sentence for murdering a man in Manchester in 1986. He is in Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn, Co Antrim after being transferred from England. Last June, he married Denise McAllister (24), in a prison ceremony at Maghaberry, where she is serving a seven year sentence for robbery.
Denise Kelly, from west Belfast, became pregnant during what is officially described as an "inter institutional" visit by her husband. Conjugal visits are outlawed and she is believed to be the first inmate to have conceived at any jail in Northern Ireland. The baby is due next Monday.