BBC lawyers defend reporting in Adams defamation case

The former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams claims the broadcaster defamed him in a 2016 programme and article about the murder of Denis Donaldson

Gerry Adams denies being involved in the killing of Denis Donaldson who was shot dead in April 2006 near Glenties in Co Donegal, months after admitting that he had worked as a British spy for decades. Picture: PA

Developments in the Denis Donaldson murder investigation are “not inconsistent” with allegedly defamatory reporting about Gerry Adams, lawyers for the BBC have said.

The statement is made in court filings as part of a High Court case being taken by Adams, the former president of Sinn Féin, against the BBC over claims that it defamed him by falsely alleging that he had “sanctioned” the killing of Donaldson.

The claim, which Adams has strenuously denied, was ...