Northern Ireland

Gerry Kelly has a colourful relationship with the law

 In 2013, the North Belfast MLA was carried on the bonnet of a PSNI Land Rover for several yards after trying to speak to officers about the arrest of a 16-year-old following a loyalist parade.
 In 2013, the North Belfast MLA was carried on the bonnet of a PSNI Land Rover for several yards after trying to speak to officers about the arrest of a 16-year-old following a loyalist parade.  In 2013, the North Belfast MLA was carried on the bonnet of a PSNI Land Rover for several yards after trying to speak to officers about the arrest of a 16-year-old following a loyalist parade.

THE police investigation following Gerry Kelly’s actions on Friday are by no means his first brush with the law.

After joining the IRA in his late teens, the North Belfast MLA was jailed for life in England in connection with the Old Bailey bombings in 1973.

Transferred to Northern Ireland, he attempted to escape from prison twice before succeeding in the mass republican break-out from the Maze in 1983.

The Falls Road man went on the run in Europe for three years before being apprehended in the Netherlands and was granted a royal pardon as part of a deal to secure his extradition.

In 1996 he was arrested in Belfast during a demonstration against a loyalist parade.

He was handcuffed and put in an armoured police vehicle but managed to escape while still shackled.

He later received compensation over the arrest.

Read more:Sinn Féin urged to clamp down on Gerry Kelly

Video: Gerry Kelly filmed removing a clamp from his car

In 2013, the North Belfast MLA was carried on the bonnet of a PSNI Land Rover for several yards after trying to speak to officers about the arrest of a 16-year-old following a loyalist parade.

In 2016, he was assaulted in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and received facial injuries.

A former member of the Policing Board, Mr Kelly remains the Sinn Féin spokesperson on policing.