I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter here. I would like to ask the Minister if he is aware of the arrest of John Matthews in London, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and the subsequent charge against him on 4 May this year?
John Matthews was returning home to Ireland on 27 April when he was arrested at Heathrow Airport. The now infamous British swab tests were carried out on his hands, the results of which were not made known to John until three weeks after his arrest.
Ms Gareth Pierce, the solicitor who represented the innocent members of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four at their respective appeals, has taken up the case of John Matthews. Ms Pierce has expressed immense reservations about this alleged forensic evidence. She has cast serious doubt on the subsequent three identification parades on which John was placed for three different offences.
John Matthews is only five foot two inches in height and has what has been called distinctive bright ginger hair. Taking those distinguishing features into account, John was picked out only after considerable hesitation by one witness who initially indicated that he could not make a positive identification. I understand the same witness said originally to the police that the accused was approximately five foot seven inches in height. Will the Minister agree that there are serious reservations in regard to this case? I implore him to act immediately on this matter. We have already seen the effects of fabricated evidence such as this on Irish citizens. We cannot afford to be complacent about such matters. We must act now, 17 or 20 years from now will be too late.
It appears that the British police force is acting in the same manner as it did in the mid-70s when it was under pressure to arrest people for the bombing campaign being carried out at that time, regardless of the lack of evidence and the blatant lies that were told against the innocent people who were arrested and convicted of those atrocious crimes. This is the second serious mistake the British authorities have made this year. I am sure the Minister is aware of a gentleman called Mr. Murphy who was arrested earlier this year after three people had supposedly identified him. It was later discovered that he could not have been at the scene of the crime because he was attending a meeting with a number of other people. On the day after his arrest, The Sun newspaper displayed a bumper headline “Caught Mr. Big” stating that he was one of the most senior people in the IRA in England at the time.
When John Matthews was arrested he was questioned about three different bomb attacks in England, one in June 1992, one in October 1992 and for the bombing of the NatWest Tower in the city of London on 24 April 1993 with which he was subsequently charged. I understand that on the date in question in June 1992 John was being conferred with a degree at Queen's University and on the date in question in October 1992 he was working at a hospital in London and this was verified by people working there. Leaving aside the flimsy forensic evidence and the dubious identification parade, John has an air-tight alibi. At the time John was supposedly planting the bombs in the NatWest Tower he was at home with his aunt in Wood Green, north London, watching a Bruce Springsteen concert. John is the first Catholic ever to be elected President of the Geographical Society of Queen's University. He has impeccable credentials from people from all sides of the community in the North of Ireland and following a raid on his family home by the RUC they stated that it was a mistake and that neither John nor his family had any connection with the IRA.
Gareth Pierce stated:
John's position has all the hallmarks of many worrying cases in the past which have led to innocent people being wrongly convicted. Here, it appears that one inconclusive and manifestly weak piece of evidence is being used to prop up another similarly inadequate piece of evidence.
I do not want anyone either inside or outside this House to get the impression that I want the true perpetrators of those horrific crimes to walk free. What I do want is the real terrorists, the people who actually planted these bombs, to be arrested and convicted. I am convinced, and I know of many other people who are equally sure, that in this instance once again the British authorities have charged the wrong person.
When Mr. Matthew's family contacted me as their local Deputy I assured them that I would do all in my power to highlight John's case and keep it under active review. That is why I am asking the Minister to take this matter up as a matter of urgency with the British authorities and to keep us informed of their deliberations in the matter.
