Sinn Fein 'Double Standards' Rankle

Sinn Fein has angered other Northern politicians after they described a PSNI operation which resulted in five arrests by officers investigating the terrorist murder of Constable Kerr as "heavy handed and reminiscent of the bad old days".

The criticism came after 200 officers carried out a series of raids across counties Down, Londonderry and Antrim, as part of investigations into the killing.

The DUP's Lord Maurice Morrow has now accused Sinn Fein of "double standards" and said republicans were sending out mixed messages on their support of policing.

As a result, five men - aged 22, 27, 33, 37 and 46 - were arrested under the Terrorism Act.

However, all five have now been released while a 23-year-old woman arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of the Catholic police officer remains in custody.

Seven properties were searched in areas including Coalisland, Toome, Bellaghy, and Ballyronan.

On Wednesday night four men were released by detectives investigating the murder - a fifth man who was detained in Coalisland was freed earlier, on Wednesday afternoon.

Sinn Fein MP for Mid Ulster Martin McGuinness said he knows the family of the young man who was "arrested yesterday in a blaze of publicity" in Coalisland and later released.

"I have been in contact with the PSNI at the top level to register my dissatisfaction and annoyance at the operation in Coalisland," the Stormont deputy First Minister said.

"The nature of the operation has caused widespread anger in the local community. That is a reality the PSNI will now have to face.

"People are in no doubt where I stand in relation to the killers of Ronan Kerr. I believe that the PSNI have a duty to properly investigate this murder. However the arrest and release of this young man raises very serious questions about the quality of the current PSNI investigation."

He concluded: "Bad policing operations in republican communities will do nothing to bring his killers to justice. Indeed if anything the opposite is the case."

Adding his voice, the Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle has also said he is disappointed at the comments made by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness regarding aspects of the police operation into the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr.

"I am disappointed at the comments made by Martin McGuinness. The Deputy First Minister is entitled to an opinion; however, I had hoped that he would take a more constructive approach and not publicly criticised particular aspects of a police operation.

"The police have a difficult task in tackling terrorism and they require the full support of all public representatives. Any concerns that anyone might have should be raised through the appropriate structures and not through the media," he said.

Release call

Meanwhile, the DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has urged the Justice Minister David Ford to "resist political pressure" from those calling for the release of Brendan Lillis - who has received Sinn Fein backing at high level.

"Brendan Lillis is a terrorist and a criminal who was responsible for a number of serious crimes.

"He was convicted, released, and then returned to prison and now there are some like Sinn Fein who are arguing that he should be released once more. His victims must be foremost in our consideration of the matter," said the MP.

Yesterday, the Sinn Fein MP for West Belfast, Paul Maskey urged the Justice Minister to "show leadership and release Brendan Lillis".

"The decision taken by the Life Sentence Review Commission not to release Brendan Lillis was the wrong decision and we made this clear to the Justice Minister pressing on him the need to overturn this decision and release Brendan Lillis immediately.

"Brendan Lillis is currently critically ill - too ill to stand trial. He is currently 5 stone 5lbs in weight and while this legal advice is awaited his health could deteriorate further.

"The continued imprisonment of Brendan Lillis does not serve the public interest and he should be released now on humanitarian grounds," he insisted.

Mr Lillis, who suffers from a severe arthritic condition, was sentenced to life in 1977 on explosives charges.

The 59-year-old served almost 16 years of that sentence before being released on licence in 1993.

Then, Secretary of State Shaun Woodward revoked this facility in 2009 after Mr Lillis was re-arrested on robbery charges.

The reason given was that he was "a danger to the public" and was told he would have to serve the rest of his original life sentence at Maghaberry Prison.

However, earlier this year, it was decided Mr Lillis was too ill to stand trial, although he could face charges if his health improves.

(BMcC/GK)