Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[glens abu]

I think Sin Fe in could be huge gainers on both sides of the border this month.

Well I hope so but as you  know its getting people out to vote can be the problem esp as there is a lot of apathy out there.

[orangeman]

Stirring words.

A senior police officer has rejected Sinn Féin allegations that the arrest of Gerry Adams was the work of a "dark side" within the PSNI.

Ch Supt Nigel Grimshaw said police officers had a duty to investigate crime "without fear or favour".

He added that he was concerned that support for the police seemed to depend on who was being investigated.

Martin McGuinness has claimed there is a "cabal" in the PSNI opposed to Sinn Féin.

The deputy first minister made the comments after Gerry Adams was arrested and questioned about the 1972 murder of Belfast woman Jean McConville.

He said that "there was still a dark side within policing here in the north of Ireland".

Speaking at the Police Superintendents' Association annual conference on Wednesday evening, Ch Supt Grimshaw said: "Only last week, we heard strong and, what many see, as sinister words suggesting that there was an old guard operating within the PSNI leadership, and that there had been a manifestation of a 'dark side'.

"The law is very clear. The Police Act of 2000 charges the police service with a responsibility to investigate crime.

"All of our officers must follow this duty, in the words of Sir Robert Peel, 'without fear or favour'.

"As an association, we reject all attempts to differentiate between our members and to single out as being different those who lead on serious and terrorist crime."

Ch Supt Grimshaw, who is the PSNI's district commander for north and west Belfast, also said he was concerned that "support for policing seems to depend on their investigative strategies or the perspectives of the adversarial political arena".

He added: "Worryingly, there remains a mindset on the part of some that seems to regard good policing as only that which tackles the other side, and bad policing as that which seeks to deal with 'our side'."

[armaghniac]

This week is the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. One wonders if the PSNI are investigating those events?

[Nally Stand]

Stirring words.

A senior police officer has rejected Sinn Féin allegations that the arrest of Gerry Adams was the work of a "dark side" within the PSNI.

Ch Supt Nigel Grimshaw said police officers had a duty to investigate crime "without fear or favour".

He added that he was concerned that support for the police seemed to depend on who was being investigated.

Martin McGuinness has claimed there is a "cabal" in the PSNI opposed to Sinn Féin.

The deputy first minister made the comments after Gerry Adams was arrested and questioned about the 1972 murder of Belfast woman Jean McConville.

He said that "there was still a dark side within policing here in the north of Ireland".

Speaking at the Police Superintendents' Association annual conference on Wednesday evening, Ch Supt Grimshaw said: "Only last week, we heard strong and, what many see, as sinister words suggesting that there was an old guard operating within the PSNI leadership, and that there had been a manifestation of a 'dark side'.

"The law is very clear. The Police Act of 2000 charges the police service with a responsibility to investigate crime.

"All of our officers must follow this duty, in the words of Sir Robert Peel, 'without fear or favour'.

"As an association, we reject all attempts to differentiate between our members and to single out as being different those who lead on serious and terrorist crime."

Ch Supt Grimshaw, who is the PSNI's district commander for north and west Belfast, also said he was concerned that "support for policing seems to depend on their investigative strategies or the perspectives of the adversarial political arena".

He added: "Worryingly, there remains a mindset on the part of some that seems to regard good policing as only that which tackles the other side, and bad policing as that which seeks to deal with 'our side'."

Cop defends cops. Wouldn't exactly call it stirring. If it weren't a case of political policing, where then was the "operational independence" if Villiers knew about the arrest before it happened?

[glens abu]

Some people need to be very careful about spreading lies.

3 hours ago 7,067 Views  72 Comments  Share39  Tweet21  Email2
Gerry Adams
Image: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
GERRY ADAMS HAS asked his solicitor to take "appropriate" action against the Irish Independent and the Belfast Telegraph over what he says are false claims that he was tipped off about the sexual abuse case against Liam Adams.
The Sinn Féin president said today that the allegations that he was briefed about the case before his brother's trial for sexually abusing his daughter Aine are "untrue".
He told a press conference today that he has asked his solicitor Paul Tweed to take "appropriate action" over those stories and said the lawyer has been in contact with the Independent and Telegraph this morning.
In a statement made today at a press conference, he said: "It's totally unfounded, it's  totally inaccurate, it's misleading and it's typical of the scurrilous – I hesitate to use the word journalism – scurrilous approach that we get from that group of newspapers when they're dealing with me or indeed Sinn Féin.
"The assertion that I was tipped off or that I was briefed about the case before the trial is untrue. The assertion that a police officer discussed the details of the PSNI investigation with me before I gave evidence as a prosecution witness against my brother is also untrue.
"The accusation that I was acquiescent or party to any inappropriate to improper conduct in relation to giving my evidence is untrue and there's no basis at all for publishing what are totally false allegations particularly in circumstances where both the PSNI and the Police Ombudsman in the North are reported as having said that it would be inappropriate to comment on a complaint currently under investigation."
Liam Adams was jailed for 16 years last November for raping his daughter. Adams gave evidence against his brother at the trail. He later faced questions from the media about the abuse, specifically about what he knew and when he knew it.
Adams was speaking at the launch of the party's the local elections manifesto. The document includes a commitment to abolish the property tax, build 7,500 social housing units in 18 months, oppose the introduction of water charges, and expand the Dublin Bikes scheme in the capital and across the country.
He criticised Independent Newspapers saying that as far back as the execution of James Connolly the media group has painted "untruths and stories that are absolutely malicious about Sinn Féin".

[Rossfan]

The Irish "Independent" lets its hatred get in the way of the facts again it seems.
Mind you the SF manifesto is off on a loonyleft ignore the facts tangent too - abolish taxes/charges and provide better public services.
Pope Francis ought to canonise the lot of them for such miracles.

[give her dixie]

Some people need to be very careful about spreading lies.

Says the man who has spent months spreading lies........

[Myles Na G.]

This week is the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. One wonders if the PSNI are investigating those events?

Since the bombings happened in the 26 counties, I would imagine that any investigation would be the responsibility of the republic's police rather than the PSNI.

[Myles Na G.]

Stirring words.

A senior police officer has rejected Sinn Féin allegations that the arrest of Gerry Adams was the work of a "dark side" within the PSNI.

Ch Supt Nigel Grimshaw said police officers had a duty to investigate crime "without fear or favour".

He added that he was concerned that support for the police seemed to depend on who was being investigated.

Martin McGuinness has claimed there is a "cabal" in the PSNI opposed to Sinn Féin.

The deputy first minister made the comments after Gerry Adams was arrested and questioned about the 1972 murder of Belfast woman Jean McConville.

He said that "there was still a dark side within policing here in the north of Ireland".

Speaking at the Police Superintendents' Association annual conference on Wednesday evening, Ch Supt Grimshaw said: "Only last week, we heard strong and, what many see, as sinister words suggesting that there was an old guard operating within the PSNI leadership, and that there had been a manifestation of a 'dark side'.

"The law is very clear. The Police Act of 2000 charges the police service with a responsibility to investigate crime.

"All of our officers must follow this duty, in the words of Sir Robert Peel, 'without fear or favour'.

"As an association, we reject all attempts to differentiate between our members and to single out as being different those who lead on serious and terrorist crime."

Ch Supt Grimshaw, who is the PSNI's district commander for north and west Belfast, also said he was concerned that "support for policing seems to depend on their investigative strategies or the perspectives of the adversarial political arena".

He added: "Worryingly, there remains a mindset on the part of some that seems to regard good policing as only that which tackles the other side, and bad policing as that which seeks to deal with 'our side'."

Cop defends cops. Wouldn't exactly call it stirring. If it weren't a case of political policing, where then was the "operational independence" if Villiers knew about the arrest before it happened?

I would imagine that had the PSNI been about to arrest Peter Robinson they would've informed the SoS in the same way.
Edit: Just read the post re Gerry Adams and his brother, so I've modified my post. Apologies. I thought that the briefings of Adams was a matter of fact, not a political smear.

[give her dixie]

Gerry is always quick off the mark to call people liars when they say something that involves himself. He forgets the lies he told to the Irish nation about not having anything to do with his child rapist brother for 15 years. The evidence produced in court proved that he was in fact a liar, and not the media who he and his followers claimed.

Here is the full court transcript of his cross examination in full:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/08_10_2013_cross_exam_gerry_adams.pdf

Also, as most people will recall, Gerry has always claimed that Dolours Price was a liar when she claimed he was behind the disappearance of several people in the early 70's in interviews carried by the Irish News, The Sunday Life, and the Telegraph.

Gerry Adams had the opportunity to go to court and challenge Dolours over her claims. He refused saying he couldn't afford it. Now that she is dead, he can call her a liar all day long. He had a chance to prove he was telling the truth when she was alive, but he refused. Now she is dead, he can say what he wants.

Gerry has no problem raising millions over the years from lavish dinners in 5 star hotels. The party rakes in millions from Stormont and the Dail through salaries and expenses. Now call me stupid if you may, but in my book, if Gerry wanted to prove his innocence he could have challenged her claims in a court of law in order to clear his name while she was still alive.

Everyone in Sinn Fein repeats the claim by Gerry that he is innocent, yet not one single one of them stepped forward and said Gerry, we will stand behind you in a court action against Dolours, and no matter what it costs, we will do everything in our power to raise the money to cover your expenses. That would have been the ultimate show of faith in his innocence, but somehow, they maybe didn't believe him enough to risk going to court to prove it...........

[Nally Stand]

Gerry is always quick off the mark to call people liars when they say something that involves himself. He forgets the lies he told to the Irish nation about not having anything to do with his child rapist brother for 15 years. The evidence produced in court proved that he was in fact a liar, and not the media who he and his followers claimed.

Here is the full court transcript of his cross examination in full:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/08_10_2013_cross_exam_gerry_adams.pdf

Also, as most people will recall, Gerry has always claimed that Dolours Price was a liar when she claimed he was behind the disappearance of several people in the early 70's in interviews carried by the Irish News, The Sunday Life, and the Telegraph.

Gerry Adams had the opportunity to go to court and challenge Dolours over her claims. He refused saying he couldn't afford it. Now that she is dead, he can call her a liar all day long. He had a chance to prove he was telling the truth when she was alive, but he refused. Now she is dead, he can say what he wants.

Gerry has no problem raising millions over the years from lavish dinners in 5 star hotels. The party rakes in millions from Stormont and the Dail through salaries and expenses. Now call me stupid if you may, but in my book, if Gerry wanted to prove his innocence he could have challenged her claims in a court of law in order to clear his name while she was still alive.

Everyone in Sinn Fein repeats the claim by Gerry that he is innocent, yet not one single one of them stepped forward and said Gerry, we will stand behind you in a court action against Dolours, and no matter what it costs, we will do everything in our power to raise the money to cover your expenses. That would have been the ultimate show of faith in his innocence, but somehow, they maybe didn't believe him enough to risk going to court to prove it...........

Dixie, not sure if you've seen the news in recent weeks but Gerry was actually arrested and questioned for four days about IRA membership and the disappeared. He was released without charge. Ergo, he is innocent.

[foxcommander]

Since the bombings happened in the 26 counties, I would imagine that any investigation would be the responsibility of the republic's police rather than the PSNI.

Maybe RUC members will travel to Dublin to give evidence if invited. The ones that weren't involved obv.

[give her dixie]

Gerry is always quick off the mark to call people liars when they say something that involves himself. He forgets the lies he told to the Irish nation about not having anything to do with his child rapist brother for 15 years. The evidence produced in court proved that he was in fact a liar, and not the media who he and his followers claimed.

Here is the full court transcript of his cross examination in full:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/08_10_2013_cross_exam_gerry_adams.pdf

Also, as most people will recall, Gerry has always claimed that Dolours Price was a liar when she claimed he was behind the disappearance of several people in the early 70's in interviews carried by the Irish News, The Sunday Life, and the Telegraph.

Gerry Adams had the opportunity to go to court and challenge Dolours over her claims. He refused saying he couldn't afford it. Now that she is dead, he can call her a liar all day long. He had a chance to prove he was telling the truth when she was alive, but he refused. Now she is dead, he can say what he wants.

Gerry has no problem raising millions over the years from lavish dinners in 5 star hotels. The party rakes in millions from Stormont and the Dail through salaries and expenses. Now call me stupid if you may, but in my book, if Gerry wanted to prove his innocence he could have challenged her claims in a court of law in order to clear his name while she was still alive.

Everyone in Sinn Fein repeats the claim by Gerry that he is innocent, yet not one single one of them stepped forward and said Gerry, we will stand behind you in a court action against Dolours, and no matter what it costs, we will do everything in our power to raise the money to cover your expenses. That would have been the ultimate show of faith in his innocence, but somehow, they maybe didn't believe him enough to risk going to court to prove it...........

Dixie, not sure if you've seen the news in recent weeks but Gerry was actually arrested and questioned for four days about IRA membership and the disappeared. He was released without charge. Ergo, he is innocent.

Nally, I think you missed my point, and my previous posts where I did know he was arrested and released without charge pending a file sent to the DPP to decide if he will face charges or not.

Dolours Price was interviewed by 2 people and she claimed Gerry Adams was involved in the disappearance of several people. That interview was carried by 3 major reputable newspapers a couple of years ago.

He had a chance to take Dolours or the papers to court to prove his innocence and challenge the very serious claims. He refused citing he couldn't afford to.

Now tell me this. If I was to make the same claims against Peter Robinson say, or Enda Kenny, or Micheal Martin, or indeed yourself in the same 3 papers, what do you think you or they would do?

Do you think they would challenge the claims in any way they could, including going to court no matter what the costs were? Would you challenge me in court no matter what the cost, or would you sit back and do nothing?

When Gerry said he couldn't afford the costs, he didn't know then that he would be arrested years later and given a chance to clear his name. From then until Dolours died, those claims went unchallenged legally. It was his word against hers.

Over the past few years we have seen serious allegations made about many famous people in the press. Those alleged to have committed the offenses stood up and said they were innocent of all charges, and would fight tooth and nail to defend themselves.

Several high profile people were arrested, questioned, and released. Files were sent to the DPP, and charges were brought against several of them. They had their day in court to defend themselves, and from what we have seen, many of them were convicted, and some found not guilty. In defending themselves, some had to sell their houses and borrow money to pay legal fees.

What they all had in common was a determination to refute the claims made against them no matter what the cost, and no matter what the outcome.

When is the last time you ever seen a high profile person accused of serious crimes in the papers refuse to challenge the claims in a court of law?

Using the excuse of not been able to afford court costs was a very very weak excuse to use given how serious the allegations were.

[Maguire01]

Some people need to be very careful about spreading lies.

3 hours ago 7,067 Views  72 Comments  Share39  Tweet21  Email2
Gerry Adams
Image: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
GERRY ADAMS HAS asked his solicitor to take "appropriate" action against the Irish Independent and the Belfast Telegraph over what he says are false claims that he was tipped off about the sexual abuse case against Liam Adams.

Is that not the standard response you'd expect from most politicians? Will be interesting to see whether it's pursued.

[Maguire01]

I think Sinn Fein could be huge gainers on both sides of the border this month.

I think they've probably reached their peak in the north - in terms of numbers of votes at least, although the turnout might impact the level of gains/losses. With the new councils and the reduced number of seats, it's difficult to predict too much.

In the south they'll definitely make big gains on 2009 - it will be interesting to see the gains from the GE.