Surprise at no warrant for Adams

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Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams is said to be "astonished" that there was no European arrest warrant issued for his brother over sex abuse allegations.

Liam Adams, who is wanted by the PSNI after claims that he sexually abused his daughter from the age of four, gave himself up to Irish police on Monday.

He walked into a Garda station in Sligo but Irish police could not detain him as they did not have the right warrant.

Sinn Fein sources expressed "surprise" at the PSNI's lack of preparation.

Liam Adams left the station after giving police his name and address and saying that he was willing to be questioned.

His daughter, Aine Tyrell, has waived her right to anonymity to allege that her father had molested her, claiming that the abuse included rape.

Questions asked

He was due to appear in court in November 2008 to face 23 charges relating to the alleged abuse, but failed to show up.

It was thought at that time he was residing in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

The PSNI, which has previously described the search for Liam Adams as a cross-border investigation, then issued a warrant for his arrest.

However, it has since emerged that it only covered Northern Ireland.

It is now expected that Sinn Fein members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board - the body which holds the PSNI to account - will be asking why the necessary paperwork to arrest Liam Adams was not in place in advance, if it was suspected that he was living south of the Irish border.

It is understood that it can take weeks to prepare a European arrest warrant.

'Under pressure'

The PSNI declined to be interviewed about the matter but a spokesperson confirmed that a European arrest warrant is being prepared in the Liam Adams case and is likely to be ready by January.

The Sinn Fein leader has come under pressure after it emerged that he first knew about the allegation against his brother in the late 1980s.

Since then, Liam Adams has worked with young people in a number of different capacities, including youth groups in west Belfast and Dundalk.

In a weekend interview during which Gerry Adams appealed for his brother to hand himself in to the authorities, he also revealed that his father, a veteran republican, had been responsible for acts of physical and sexual abuse against his own children.