Rearrest after release

Press, 21 October 1989, Page 12

Rearrest after release

NZPA-PA London One of the “Guildford four” was rearrested at the Old Bailey courts yesterday just minutes after he and the other members of the group were released. Royal Ulster Constabulary officers took Paul Hill into custody, and he was flown to Northern Ireland, where he was jailed for life in June 1975 for murdering a former British soldier. Last night, Hill, aged 35, was in high-security Crumlin Road jail as his lawyers prepared for their bid to have him freed at a hearing in the Northern Ireland High Court today.

They will seek to make two applications. The first will ask to extend the 28-day time limit, long expired, to allow Hill to appeal his conviction for murdering Brian Shaw in West Belfast. He allegedly confessed to Surrey police when he was being questioned about the Guildford bombings. If that application is granted, Hill’s lawyers will apply for bail. His counsel, Lord Gifford, and solicitor Michael Fisher arrived in Belfast yesterday to prepare ' for the hearing. It is not known if Hill will appear in court today.

Mr Fisher said of yesterday’s Old Bailey proceedings, “It’s staggering, absolutely staggering, that perjured evidence was given by officers in the original trial.” He said it tainted everything that happened in Guildford police station, including Hill’s conviction for the Shaw murder. Hill’s aunt, Theresa Smalley, hit out at the “formality” still hanging over his head. “It is a great day for justice, but it’s shocking that, after 15 years, we are still having this formality with Paul over the Belfast case,” she said. “Paul has been in prison for 15 years.