BBC journalist exercised 'utmost caution' in reporting on Gerry Adams allegation, court hears

High Court Reporters

A journalist behind a programme at the centre of Gerry Adams’ defamation action against the BBC has said she exercised “utmost care and responsibility” in reporting the allegation that the former Sinn Féin leader sanctioned the murder of a British agent.

BBC Spotlight reporter Jennifer O’Leary was giving evidence at the High Court on the third week of a civil trial hearing into Mr Adams's action.

Mr Adams claims the Spotlight programme and a related article published in 2016 defamed him by falsely accusing him of sanctioning the killing of MI5 agent Denis Donaldson at a cottage in Glenties, Co Donegal in 2006.

The BBC denies it defamed Mr Adams, who insists he had no involvement in the death, which dissident republicans claimed responsibility for in 2009.

On Wednesday, under cross-examination by Tom Hogan SC, for Mr Adams, Ms O’Leary said the “serious” allegation, made against Mr Adams by an anonymous contributor to the programme dubbed “Martin”, was treated with the “utmost care and responsibility”.

She said she made efforts to meet with as many credible sources as possible in carrying out her investigation. “I had over 60 meetings after the interview with Martin was recorded,” she said.

Ms O’Leary had previously told the court that Martin’s claims were corroborated by two republican and three security services sources.

Mr Hogan asked if Ms O’Leary agreed with the proposition that if, as a journalist, you can’t stand over an allegation, you should not publish it. “Mr Hogan, I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t stand over the allegations made in the programme,” she replied.

Mr Hogan put it to Ms O’Leary that she was in court to defend the journalism of the programme, but not the truth of the allegation against Mr Adams. She said she was defending the allegation Martin made on the basis of five additional sources.

Mr Hogan later put it to Ms O’Leary she had an obligation to not just to corroborate claims, but also to verify claims. He said the only evidence she’d given was that she’d gone to other “dubious” sources and got them to confirm what she wanted them to say.

“I absolutely reject the suggestion that the sources in this programme were dubious,” she said.

Ms O’Leary also denied Mr Hogan’s suggestion that a number of statements made by the Donaldson family, which appear in a draft script of the programme, were removed from the finished product because they contradicted the allegations made about Mr Adams. She said changes to a draft script were not unusual.

Ms O’Leary said that in meetings with members of An Garda Síochána during her reporting, it was made “explicitly clear” to her that the force’s investigation of Mr Donaldson’s murder was focused on “who pulled the trigger”, not who might have directed the murder.

Asked why she did not ask Garda sources about the allegation that Mr Adams’ sanctioned the Donaldson killing, she said it was a sensitive and serious allegation, and she was being careful and fair to Mr Adams.

“[The garda sources] made it explicitly clear that they had a different focus. They were looking at the trigger men… that’s not the allegation that we made about Gerry Adams in the programme,” she said.

Ms O’Leary agreed that she was aware of Antoin Duffy, who Mr Hogan described as a dissident republican, and the prime suspect in Mr Donaldson’s killing. Ms O’Leary said she’d “made it her business” to be aware of who was the focus of the Garda investigation.

Ms O’Leary said she did not put Mr Duffy’s name explicitly to Martin – or the other five sources who she said corroborated his allegations – in her questioning about Mr Donaldson’s killing. She said she put to her sources the Real IRA’s claim of responsibility for Mr Donaldson’s death in 2009.

Ms O’Leary said she disagreed with Mr Hogan’s suggestion that in the programme, Martin states as a matter of fact that IRA murders have to be approved by its political and military leadership, and “Gerry Adams, he gives the final say” [on the decision].

Ms O’Leary said Martin’s words are presented “in the context of an allegation”. She said “any reasonable person” watching the programme would know “we are making an allegation”.

Mr Hogan put it to Ms O’Leary that the word “sanction” was used only by her in the programme, and not Martin. The word is used in the programme – and related article – in outlining the allegation made against Mr Adams.

Ms O’Leary said she didn’t dispute Mr Hogan’s assertion, but said Martin had used the word in outlining the allegation against Mr Adams when they met in February 2016.

Ms O’Leary’s cross-examination, and the trial, continues.