Two days after a Channel 4 documentary was shown the makers supplied to the RUC a list of people who were clearly being accused of multiple murder based on allegations in the programme, the High Court in London was told yesterday.
Some of those on the list would be coming to the court from Northern Ireland to describe what it was like to be visited by the police and to be falsely accused as murderers, the court heard.
The programme was broadcast on October 2nd, 1991, and contained allegations of collusion between the security forces and loyalist paramilitaries to kill Catholics. The allegations were made by a then unidentified witness, now known to be Mr James Sands.
The programme-maker, Mr Sean McPhilemy (52), from Derry who now lives in Oxford, is suing the Sunday Times for libel. The newspaper described the programme as a hoax in an article in May 1993.
Mr McPhilemy claims his reputation was damaged and that his livelihood, career, and company, Box Productions, had been destroyed. The Sunday Times is denying the claims and pleading justification.
Yesterday, Mr Andrew Caldecott QC, for the newspaper, said that in the programme it was alleged there was a committee of unofficial representatives of the security forces, loyalists, bankers, solicitors, city councillors, and members of loyalist terrorist groups which met regularly to plan the killing of suspected IRA members. However, most of the victims mentioned were not IRA members, he said.
Mr Caldecott said there was one aspect that nobody had heard anything about so far and was completely out of the sight of the viewer. On October 4th, two days after the programme, Channel 4 supplied documents to the RUC. These included a list. "All the people in Category A of the document were quite clearly being accused by Box Productions and Channel 4 of multiple murder. That was what the names were provided as," he said.
Mr Caldecott said some of these people were going to come to court from Northern Ireland. They would say who they were, what they believed and what it was like to be visited by police and accused as murderers.
Earlier, Mr James Price QC, for Mr McPhilemy, said that between the interviews with Mr Sands in April 1991 and the time the programme went out in October that year, the programme-makers carried out a meticulous investigation into what they had been told by Mr Sands.
They conscientiously and honestly believed he was telling the truth.
The case continues before Mr Justice Eady and a jury.