Adams wins case against the BBC over claim he sanctioned informant's murder

Gerry Adams has won a defamation action against the BBC over a documentary that carried a claim he sanctioned the murder of an MI5 informant in 2006.

- Rory Carroll

A jury at Dublin's high court yesterday found that the BBC had not acted in good faith or in a fair and reasonable way, and awarded the former Sinn Féin leader €100,000 (£84,000) in damages.

The verdict came after a four-week trial that scrutinised Adams's alleged membership of the IRA and his role during Northern Ireland's Troubles and peace process.

Lawyers for Adams accused the BBC of a "grievous smear" and "hatchet job". Lawyers for the broadcaster defended the documentary and said the libel action was a cynical attempt to launder Adams's reputation.

The former West Belfast MP said a BBC Spotlight documentary and accompanying online article defamed him in 2016 by claiming he had sanctioned the murder of Denis Donaldson, a former Sinn Féin official who was shot dead in County Donegal months after admitting he had for decades been a police and MI5 informant. The claim about Adams was made by an anonymous source known only as "Martin".

Adams's lawyers accused the BBC of "reckless journalism" and of making an "unjustified" attack on a man credited with helping to bring about the peace process that drew a line under the Troubles in 1998.