THE case of Mr Danny McNamee, who was convicted in 1987 of the IRA Hyde Park bombing, is to be referred back to the Court of Appeal following the discovery of new forensic evidence.
The recently established Criminal Cases Review Commission, which re- examined the evidence against Mr McNamee, agreed that the case should now be reconsidered by the Court of Appeal.
Mr McNamee's solicitor, Mrs Gareth Peirce, said the new forensic evidence was discovered by a "miraculous series of chances". She praised the CCRC for its "intelligence, imagination, efficiency and energy".
Announcing its decision, the CCRC said: "Following inquiries into a number of issues, including scientific evidence, fingerprint evidence and disclosure of evidence at the time of the original appeal, the commission believes that Mr McNamee's conviction should be reconsidered by the Court of Appeal."
Mr MacNamee (36), of Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, who has always protested his innocence, was sentenced to 25 years in 1987 for conspiring to cause explosions. The prosecution alleged that he was a "master bomb-maker" and had supplied equipment for the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bombing in which four members of the Household Cavalry and seven of their horses died.
It is understood the new forensic evidence relates to a thumb-print on a battery which the prosecution alleged was Mr McNamee's and was found in the debris of the bomb site, and to fingerprints on a tape used on bomb-making devices discovered in two hidden arms caches.
This evidence, it is believed, has been discredited by several independent forensic experts. In 1991 Mr McNamee's application for leave to appeal against his conviction was rejected by the Court of Appeal.