News

Liam Adams to appeal conviction

THE paedophile brother of Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is appealing his conviction for the rape and sexual abuse of his daughter.

Liam Adams, pictured, was sentenced last month to 16 years imprisonment for the five years of abuse he inflicted on his daughter Aine.

He is appealing against both the verdict and sentence.

A jury found the 58-year-old from Bernagh Drive in west Belfast guilty of a string of attacks on his daughter, which began when she was four years old.

He was convicted of 10 offences dating back to the late seventies and eighties.

A further eight charges, which were not dealt with at trial, were left on the book.

The Lord Chief Justice's office last night confirmed that Adams's lawyers have applied to seek leave to appeal.

His older brother Gerry Adams gave evidence during a first trial which collapsed.

The Police Ombudsman is investigating whether police properly dealt with an almost decade-long delay in Gerry Adams telling police that his brother had confessed to him.

The attorney-general, John Larkin QC, is also reviewing the Public Prosecution Service's decision not to seek to bring a case against the politician for allegedly withholding evidence, as recommended by the PSNI at the time.

Gerry Adams has insisted that he committed no offence.