Civil case against Gerry Adams in London set for 2026

Former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams is to give evidence in his own defence in a civil action being brought against him in London by three IRA bomb victims.

The case has been set for trial in early 2026.

Mr Adams is being sued for symbolic damages of £1 for "vindicatory purposes".

He has consistently denied ever being a member of the IRA.

The action is being brought by John Clark, a victim of the Old Bailey attack in 1973, as well as Jonathan Ganesh and Barry Laycock, who were each injured in the 1996 attacks at London's Docklands and Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre.

The three men allege Mr Adams "acted with others in furtherance of a common design to bomb the British mainland" and was "directly responsible" in various roles within the IRA for decisions made to place devices in 1973 and 1996.

A case management hearing was held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday.

It heard the trial, which is expected to last seven days, will go ahead between February and June 2026.

The three claimants will produce evidence from almost a dozen witnesses, including former IRA members and ex-security forces personnel, according to a statement via their solicitor, Matthew Jury.

It added Mr Adams would be the only witness appearing on behalf of the defence.

Mr Jury added: "Finally after five decades, for the first time (Mr) Adams will appear in person in an English Court to be cross-examined by the victims of his alleged leadership of the IRA's terror campaign."

The case is being financed by crowd-funding and is currently short of its target, according to a campaign website.

Mr Adams has appeared as a witness in court in Belfast on a number of occasions to deny any involvement with the IRA.

This included evidence he gave at the Ballymurphy inquest five years ago.

Although interned twice in the 1970s, Mr Adams has never been found guilty of membership of the IRA.

In 2020, he had convictions for attempting to escape jail quashed by the UK Supreme Court.

Adams is one of the most recognisable and controversial figures in Irish politics.

He was the MP for Belfast West between 1983 and 1992, and again from 1997 to 2011, but never took his seat in Westminster due to Sinn Féin's policy against its members participating in the House of Commons.

To some he is hailed as a peacemaker, for leading the republican movement away from its long, violent campaign towards peaceful and democratic means.

To others, he is a hate figure who publicly justified murders carried out by the IRA.

Though Adams has consistently denied membership of the IRA, he has said he will never "disassociate" himself from the organisation.

Adams was the party's president for 34 years before stepping down in 2018.