Northern Ireland

Tyrone woman sorry for attributing homophobic comments to DUP's Jim Wells

A Co Tyrone woman who made false allegations about the DUP's Jim Wells has apologised to him in court after having her jail sentence revoked. Picture: Mal McCann
A Co Tyrone woman who made false allegations about the DUP's Jim Wells has apologised to him in court after having her jail sentence revoked. Picture: Mal McCann A Co Tyrone woman who made false allegations about the DUP's Jim Wells has apologised to him in court after having her jail sentence revoked. Picture: Mal McCann

A TYRONE woman who confessed that she maliciously lied to police, attributing homophobic remarks to then health minister Jim Wells in order "to get" him, has had her jail term downgraded to probation and community service orders.

Standing in the dock of Downpatrick County Court, 49-year-old Dorothy Elaine Gardner made a public and personal apology to Mr Wells who was sitting in the public gallery.

Gardner said she was "deeply sorry" for what she had done and wanted to apologise to Mr Wells "from the bottom of my heart."

She had claimed in a police statement that she had attended a hustings event in Downpatrick where then DUP Health Minister Jim Wells MLA had told the audience he believed treatment to HIV patients should be stopped and that children of gay parents would be abused.

Gardner also told the police that when Mr Wells made the comments she attributed to him, that his fellow DUP politicians Nelson McCausland and Gregory Campbell "began laughing and agreeing with Mr Wells" .

A transcript of what Mr Wells actually said was obtained and that proved Mr Wells had not made the remarks alleged.

Last August Gardner was sentenced to three months in jail by Deputy District Judge Neil Rafferty but he released her on bail pending an appeal.

Minutes before her trial was set to start last July Gardner, originally from Dungannon but now living on the Killucan Road in Cookstown, admitted wasting police time by making a false report of a crime on April 28 last year.

Judge Piers Grant said that having considered the contents of a probation pre-sentence report and defence submissions, he was imposing 100 hours of community service and a 15 month probation order.

Commenting that there was a "fine line" between fantasy and lies, he warned Gardiner that if she breached either order or failed to complete the 100 hours, she would be brought back before him to be resentenced and would likely face the prospect of jail.