‘Heads up... a girl from Monday night might have cried rape’

At the trial in Belfast last week, Blane McIlroy’s evidence varied widely from that of the alleged victim - and from that of Paddy Jackson

Rory Harrison denied presenting a sanitised version of events to the police when they questioned him Picture: Pacemaker

At 4.27am on June 28, 2016, Blane McIlroy sent a WhatsApp message to his friend, Ireland rugby player Paddy Jackson, asking: “Is there a possibility of a threesome?”

The men were at a party in Jackson’s house in south Belfast and the host was in an upstairs bedroom, allegedly raping a 19-year-old woman.

McIlroy deleted the message when contacted by police on the June 30, two days after the alleged attack.

He was ...