Time for Police involvement in Brady Affair
02 May 2012
TUV Leader Jim Allister has asked why the alleged withholding of information, by Cardinal Brady and others, on serious criminal offences has never been investigated by the police.
"In 1975, as today, the withholding of information was itself a criminal offence. Section 5 of The Criminal Law Act (NI) 1967 could not be clearer:-
".......where a person has committed [F1a relevant offence], it shall be the duty of every other person, who knows or believes—
(a)that the offence or some [F2other relevant offence] has been committed; and
(b)that he has information which is likely to secure, or to be of material assistance in securing, the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of any person for that offence;
to give that information, within a reasonable time, to a constable and if, without reasonable excuse, he fails to do so he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment according to the gravity of the offence about which he does not give that information...."
"In light of the renewed revelations, which confirm Church knowledge of very serious criminal offences, including the identity of perpetrators, why have the police, apparently, never investigated such withholding of information. No one, Roman Catholic Church cleric, or otherwise, is or should be above the law.
"Today, I intend tabling this Priority Written Question to the Justice Minister:-
"To ask the Minister for Justice to confirm a) that the withholding of information about the commission of a criminal offence itself remains an offence in Northern Ireland, and was so in 1975; and b) that there is no time limit on such a prosecution and in consequence will he enquire and report to the Assembly on any police action taken in regard to the Cardinal Brady affair, as highlighted again in the recent BBC programme 'This World'.
