How Keir Starmer sought damages for IRA terrorist as MPs pave way for Gerry Adams payout

Sir has said he will try “every conceivable way” to prevent former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams from receiving a payout following the repeal of the Legacy Act.

However, decades before Sir Keir’s decision, he had tried to win damages for an IRA terrorist and an armed robber. The now-Prime Minister had brought the case to the High Court during his time as a barrister in a bid to win compensation for the men against the treatment they received from prison guards.

This follows the 1994 escape of several prisoners from Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire, which included IRA members and other convicted criminals.

Sir Keir then represented these individuals in a legal battle against how they were treated when officers recaptured them. The legal claim was the force used against the men was excessive or unreasonable.

One man he defended was Danny McNamee whose original conviction was for playing a part in the July 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing. The second was Andrew Russell who was imprisoned for armed robbery and for hijacking a helicopter for a jailbreak at Gartree prison.

Sir Keir then succeeded in winning damages for the two men – £2,500 to Russell for being punched, kicked and stamped on and £5,000 to McNamee after the judge agreed that he was subjected to “assault and battery” or “misfeasance in public office”.

Both men were covered in injuries including a haemorrhage on Russell’s right eye and a torn ligament. McNamee suffered two head wounds which required stitching with the judge noting that the second blow was “a gratuitous piece of punishment inflicted after he was effectively restrained”.

However, this sparked furious backlash at the time due the cost to the taxpayers reportedly standing at £500,000 for legal aid.

The historic cases have sparked renewed interest as the Prime Minister plans to repeal the Legacy Act which was brought in by the previous Tory government to address legacy issues from the Troubles.

The relevant sections of the Act had been agreed by Parliament in 2023 in response to a Supreme Court judgment in 2020 paving the way for Gerry Adams to secure compensation over his internment without trial in the early 1970s.

Adams won his appeal to overturn historical convictions for two attempted prison breaks, after he was interned without trial in 1973 at Long Kesh internment camp, also known as Maze Prison, near Lisburn.

However, Sir Keir’s repeal would allow Adams to pursue compensation for his detention, despite the PM insisting he will find a way to block the payout.

Earlier today during PMQs, Sir Keir insisted ministers would looking into “every conceivable way” to prevent Adams from getting a payout.

The Prime Minister defended his decision to repeal the previoous legislation, deeming it “unfit”, while vowing to implement a “better framework” for dealing with legacy issues from the Troubles.