Gerry Adams “Puts Manners On BBC” After Lawsuit Victory

By Anonymous

Gerry Adams has won a defamation suit against the BBC over airing and publishing claims that he had sanctioned the 2006 murder of Denis Donaldson. In 2016, BBC NI’s Spotlight: Spy in the IRA programme aired an interview with an informer for the PSNI, in which it was claimed that Donaldson was killed by the Provisional IRA and that this had been sanctioned by Adams. “Security sources” were also cited has having evidence suggesting that the Provisional IRA was involved, contrary to a statement issued days after the killing denying involvement [1].

In 2005 Donaldson, then a senior Sinn Féin official at Stormont, confessed to having been an informer for MI5 over the course of two decades – he was subsequently expelled from the party. Months later in 2006, he was found shot dead in a remote cottage, in what is believed to have been a reprisal for being an informer [2]. In 2009 the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the killing [3].

Roughly speaking, Irish law, which applies as the suit was filed in Dublin, defines defamation as untrue or substantially untrue statements which damage someone’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of society, though there are quite a few caveats – a statement that can’t be proven true may not necessarily be defamatory [4]. During proceedings Adams told the court he believed the programme was “an attempted hatchet job” and poor journalism. He also described the BBC’s dismissal of a complaint he raised about the programme as insulting. Adams’ legal team argued that the accusation of cynical cold-blooded murder was a very serious form of defamation – harming his reputation as a peacemaker. His legal team argued that in 2016 he had the reputation as “a man who brough peace to this island” through his involvement in the peace process and not that of a murderer [5].

The BBC’s defence argued that they had been fair, acted in the public interest, and that Adams had no reputation that could be damaged by the programme. With the jury eventually being instructed to assess Adams’ reputation in 2016 and if it had been damaged, the BBC’s defence seemed to ultimately hinge on the latter. The line of questioning adopted by Paul Gallagher, acting as barrister for the BBC, at one point prompted Adams to ask “Why are you trying to persuade the jury I have no reputation whatsoever?” Barristers acting for the BBC argued that it was a “universally held” belief that Adams was in the IRA and a member of its army council. Adams’s barrister Tom Hogan SC pointed out that “to some [Adams] is a hero, to some he is not [6].”

After deliberating for just under seven hours, the jury found in favour of Adams, awarding him €100,000 in damages. A vindicated Adams said the suit “was about putting manners on the British Broadcasting Corporation.” The director of BBC NI, Adam Smyth, on the other hand, claimed that the ruling could “hinder freedom of expression [7].” Last Thursday Adams dismissed “over the top” reactions to the ruling and said he intends to donate the awarded €100K to “good causes” such as efforts to help children facing genocide in Gaza, charitable groups in Ireland aiming to help the homeless, Irish language projects and An Cumann Cabhrach, a group that seeks to aid republican prisoners and their families [8].

Sources
[1] BBC, “Gerry Adams ’sanctioned Denis Donaldson killing’”, BBC News, 21 Sept 2016. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37425809

[2] Kearney, V., “Denis Donaldson: Life and death of secret agent”, BBC News, 30 Jan 2013. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21265659

[3] Keenan, D., “Real IRA claims responsibility for 2006 murder of Denis Donaldson”, The Irish Times, 13 April 2009. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/real-ira-claims-responsibility-for-2006-murder-of-denis-donaldson-1.743805

[4] Citizens Information, “The law on defamation in Ireland”. https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/civil-law/law-on-defamation/

[5] Traynor, V., “A look back at the Adams v BBC High Court case”, RTE, 30 May 2025. https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2025/0530/1515915-gerry-adams-summary/

[6] McCambridge, J., “What Gerry Adams said during seven days of evidence in BBC defamation trial”, breakingnews.ie, 30 May 2025. https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/whatgerry-adams-said-during-sevendays-of-evidence-in-bbc-defamation-trial-1768553.html

[7] O’Neill, J., Fox, M., Gerry Adams awarded €100k in libel case against the BBC, BBC News, 30 May 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqg138lzr3o

[8] Ainsworth, P., “Gerry Adams to donate €100,000 damages from libel case to ‘good causes’ as he defends claim he ‘put manners’ on BBC”, The Irish News, 5 June 2025. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/gerry-adams-to-donate-100000-damages-from-libel-case-to-good-causes-as-he-defends-claim-he-put-manners-on-bbc-VQCI3DWLWZEGTAKDK3ZC7CKRJ4/