Paisley challenges jail ultimatum

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7988971.stm

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Ian Paisley Jnr is to appeal against a High Court order for him to identify the prison officer who told him about files destroyed by the Prison Service.

A judge last week said the information was key for the Billy Wright Inquiry to determine if prison authorities had facilitated the LVF leader's murder.

Mr Paisley was told failure to comply with the order by 20 April could see him face going to jail.

The DUP assembly member has announced he will appeal against that ruling.

The Billy Wright Inquiry had brought the matter to the High Court after Mr Paisley refused to reveal the identity of the officer.

Mr Paisley said the officer told him documents were destroyed after the loyalist's murder in 1997.

He said last week that he would protect his source and go to jail rather than name him.

In June 2007, Mr Paisley wrote to Billy Wright's father with information that the NI Prison Service had employed people to destroy about 5,600 files shortly after his son was shot at the Maze Prison in December 1997.

Billy Wright was shot dead in the Maze prison in 1997

Mr Paisley had said he was told of an alleged policy within the prison service to destroy a large number of files as an emergency due to data protection legislation.

He said this information, which was provided by a "senior prison officer", claimed that the decision to destroy the files was "taken at the top".

In last Friday's ruling, Mr Justice Gillen said that although it was important for elected representatives to be able to protect the confidentiality of a source, the information played a central part in enabling the inquiry to determine whether or not the prison authorities had facilitated Mr Wright's death.