Journalist says she took 'utmost care' in Adams allegation

The writer who made the BBC Spotlight programme astatine the centre of a libel enactment by Gerry Adams has said she took the "utmost care" successful reporting the allegation helium sanctioned the execution of a British agent.

Jennifer O'Leary was giving grounds astatine the High Court successful Dublin connected Wednesday.

The erstwhile Sinn Féin person is suing the BBC implicit the 2016 programme and an accompanying online article.

He denies the allegation, made by an anonymous contributor called Martin, that helium gave the spell up for Denis Donaldson's sidesplitting successful 2006.

Spotlight claimed it was carried retired by the Provisional IRA, though the dissident radical the Real IRA admitted work 3 years later.

Ms O'Leary was cross-examined by counsel for Mr Adams, Tom Hogan.

She told him she did not dainty the allegation "willy-nilly".

Ms O'Leary stated she had much than 60 meetings aft interviewing Martin and had his assertion "corroborated" by 5 different sources, though they did not look successful the broadcast.

"I wouldn't beryllium present if I couldn't basal implicit the programme," she said.

Mr Hogan enactment it to her she was defending her journalism, but not the information of the allegation against Mr Adams.

She replied: "I'm present defending the allegation that Martin made connected the ground of 5 further sources.

"The points of instrumentality connected which the lawsuit is being defended are points of law."

She went on: "An allegation is an allegation.

"Any tenable idiosyncratic watching the programme would cognize we are making an allegation.

"Straight aft the allegation was made we reflected Mr Adams' denial."

Ms O'Leary was questioned astir a draught publication of the programme which included a Donaldson household connection accepting the Provisional IRA's denial of engagement and blaming the constabulary for failing to support him.

Mr Hogan claimed it was removed from the last broadcast arsenic it would person "taken away" from the allegation against Mr Adams.

Ms O'Leary said it was not antithetic for scripts to alteration and that the programme was focused connected what she had investigated.

At 1 constituent Mr Justice Alexander Owens asked: "Did you yank this retired successful bid to marque the allegation against Mr Adams a spot bigger? To springiness it beef?"

Ms O'Leary replied: "That's not true."

She went connected to cull Mr Hogan's statement of her corroborating sources arsenic "dubious".

Mr Adams denies immoderate engagement successful the 2006 sidesplitting of Mr Donaldson – who for 20 years was a spy for the constabulary and MI5 wrong Sinn Féin.

Mr Adams besides alleges helium was defamed successful a BBC online nonfiction based connected the broadcast, a BBC NI Spotlight TV documentary, which contained claims made by an anonymous source.

Mr Donaldson was erstwhile a cardinal fig successful Sinn Féin's emergence arsenic a governmental unit successful Northern Ireland but helium was recovered murdered successful 2006 aft it emerged helium had been a spy.

He was interned without proceedings for periods successful the 1970s.

After the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin appointed Mr Donaldson arsenic its cardinal head successful the party's Stormont offices.

In 2005, Mr Donaldson confessed helium was a spy for British quality for 2 decades, earlier disappearing from Belfast.

He was recovered dormant successful a small, tally down cottage successful Glenties, County Donegal.

Mr Adams was the president of enactment enactment Sinn Féin from 1983 until 2018.

He served arsenic MP successful his autochthonal Belfast West from 1983 to 1992 and again from 1997 until 2011 earlier sitting arsenic a TD (Teachta Dála) successful the Dáil (Irish parliament) betwixt 2011 and 2020.

Mr Adams led the Sinn Féin delegation during bid talks that yet brought an extremity to the Troubles aft the signing of the Good Friday Agreement successful 1998.

He was detained successful the aboriginal 1970s erstwhile the authorities successful Northern Ireland introduced internment without proceedings for those suspected of paramilitary involvement.

Mr Adams has consistently denied being a subordinate of the IRA.