A journalist wrote a letter to the solicitor of a man accused of murder on forged House of Commons notepaper to give "more credibility" to his work, a court heard today.
Mr Nick Martin-Clark also said he would not have written an article describing the murder of Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick in Northern Ireland if the accused man had continued to supply him with information.
Mr Martin-Clark was cross-examined on the sixth day of the trial of Clifford McKeown, who denies killing Mr McGoldrick on July 7th, 1996, at the height of the Drumcree Orangemen standoff.
The journalist told Belfast Crown Court he had visited McKeown (43) from Parkmore, in Craigavon, five times in Maghaberry Prison, Co Antrim in the summer of 1999.
Mr Martin-Clark admitted that during this period he downloaded a House of Commons logo from the Internet and constructed a letter which he sent to McKeown's solicitor claiming to be from the office of Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Martin-Clark said he and another journalist Ms Lynn Solomon had asked for the original meeting with McKeown, telling the prison authorities they were researchers for the left-wing MP.
"It was a ruse, it was a guise to get in to see him," he said.
However, Mr Martin-Clark said he had been honest with McKeown and had told him that both he and Ms Solomon were journalists.
When asked by the defence counsel whether he felt entitled to use Mr Corbyn's notepaper, Mr Martin-Clark replied: "I did on one occasion and it was a mistake. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise."
However, when he was pressed on the issue, Mr Martin-Clark admitted he may have done it more than once.
Mr McGoldrick, a 37-year-old father of two, was lured to an isolated road outside Lurgan, Co Armagh and shot five times at close range as tensions spilled over during the 1996 Drumcree dispute.
Mr Martin-Clark told the court that McKeown had confessed to him that he carried out the murder during one of the prison visits.
However, the court heard today that when McKeown broke off contact with him, freelance journalist Mr Martin-Clark sold a story about the murder to the Sunday Times for £7,500.
Mr Martin-Clark told the court: "If he had given me information about collusion, I would not have told this story."
When asked by McKeown's defence lawyer whether he had broken a promise to McKeown that his identity would not be revealed, Mr Martin-Clark replied: "It is a promise that I did not keep."
Under cross-examination, Mr Martin-Clark told the court his main reason for seeking a meeting with McKeown was to investigate allegations of collusion between the state and loyalist paramilitaries.
McKeown's solicitor said Mr Martin-Clark had misled his client, who did not know he was a journalist.
However, Mr Martin-Clark said he had told McKeown during the first visit that he and Ms Solomon were journalists as well as working as unpaid researchers for Mr Corbyn to find out about his welfare.
The court heard that on June 8th, 1999, Mr Martin-Clark and Ms Solomon both signed an agreement they would share 50-50 all research and proceeds of a joint venture they decided to undertake after meeting John Weir, a former sergeant in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and convicted murderer.
It was Weir who advised them that McKeown may be unwell and prepared to talk, the court heard.
Mr Martin-Clark said he was introduced to Weir by Mr Sean McPhilemy, the author of a controversial book, The Committee, which contained allegations of security force collusion in loyalist murders.
However, Mr Martin-Clark denied he was part of a "band of brothers", which also included murdered Sunday Worldjournalist Mr Martin O'Hagan, who wished to expose collusion at a time when Mr McPhilemy was facing a number of legal actions.
Three days after the meeting with Weir, the court heard a letter was sent from Mr Corbyn's office to McKeown asking if he would accept a visit from Ms Solomon and a colleague.
Mr Martin-Clark said Ms Solomon had arranged for this letter to be sent through her contacts with Mr Corbyn and his office, and that it was genuine and had never been questioned by the Labour MP.
The court also heard that Mr Martin-Clark wrote several articles for the Republican News, a paper linked with the IRA, in the years before travelling to Northern Ireland to meet McKeown.
He said he was given £60 for three articles but that he may have written others which he was not paid for.The court heard an extract from an article he had written on the subject of the union between England and Ireland, which was published in the newspaper on June 6th, 1997.
It read: "If Scotland was a marriage, Ireland was a rape."
The trial has been adjourned until tomorrow.
PA