North's Minister Should 'Resist Calls For Lillis Release'

The DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell has urged the North's 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 [Alliance party Leader] 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)