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MCGLINCHEY WALKS FREE AFTER BUYING RIRA MURDER PHONE ; Unionists outraged at sentence [Eire Region] [Mirror (UK)](Mirror (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THIS is the moment Marian McGlinchey was snared buying the mobile phone used to claim the Real IRA murders of two British soldiers. The Old Bailey bomber walked free from court yesterday after being given a 12-month sentence suspended for three years for dissident republican-linked offences. Last year the 59-year-old veteran republican pleaded guilty to providing a handset to the Real IRA gang that gunned down sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar outside Antrim's Massereene barracks in 2009. The police investigation uncovered footage filmed on a supermarket CCTV system of McGlinchey buying a pay-asyou-go mobile phone ultimately used to claim responsibility for the outrage. She also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a masked man who read a Real IRA statement which advocated violence against police at an Easter commemoration in Derry two years later. Democratic Unionist MP William McCrea slammed the sentence as "outrageous". He added: "This miserable sentence is an insult to the people who have suffered as a consequence of the murders." Tradi-tional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said: "The Quincy and Azimkar families, like many other families who have suffered such a loss, deserve justice. "It is a sad reflection on our society when victims of terrorism cannot be assured that such justice as is obtained will result in meaningful punishment." Judge Gordon Kerr QC yesterday sentenced McGlinchey, formerly known as Marian Price, to 12 months for both offences - concurrent sentences of 12 months for providing the phone and nine months for assisting the statement. But he told Belfast Crown Court he was suspending the sentence for three years. At a pre-sentence hearing last month, McGlinchey, of Stockmans Avenue, West Belfast, had claimed another jail term would exacerbate her chronic physical and mental health problems. In the wake of the incident in 2011, when she held a speech for terrorism, the then Secretary of State Owen Paterson revoked her life sentence release licence, which had been imposed when she was freed after serving seven years for the 1973 Old Bailey attack. She was re-released by Parole Commissioners last year on health grounds. In the latter part of that two-year term, she was held in a hospital mental health unit. Judge Kerr said McGlinchey's deteriorating health was one factor he had considered when suspending the sentence, as well his assessment she posed a low risk of re-offending and the fact she had served a period of custody in respect of the breach of her licence conditions. At the time of the cemetery incident, McGlinchey was secretary of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. Sappers Azimkar, 21, and 23-year-old Quinsey were shot dead just hours before deploying to Afghanistan. Already dressed in desert fatigues, they had emerged from the barracks to collect pizzas when two Real IRA gunmen opened fire. Two pizza delivery drivers and two other soldiers were also injured in the deadly attack. Colin Duffy, of Lurgan, Co Armagh, was acquitted of the murders after standing trial and Brian Shivers, from Magherafelt, Co Derry was convicted but successfully appealed and was acquitted after a re- trial. A spokesman for the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch said yesterday a number of people played a part in events before, during and after the Massereene murders. He added: "Despite today's sentencing and previous acquittals the investigation is open. We appeal to anyone with any information to contact us." [email protected] Families, who have suffered such a loss deserve justice JIM ALLISTER belfast, yesterday (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |