A prominent republican, charged with an IRA murder bid almost 30 years ago claimed a Sinn Fein MLA told him he would not face prosecution.
During a defence application to have his trial "stayed" at Belfast Crown Court, 51-year-old Terence Gerard McGeough claimed that in July 2000, Sinn Fein politician Gerry Kelly "conveyed to me that I was free to return to Northern Ireland without fear of being arrested".
He told the court the alleged conversation came in circumstances where he was due to stand for selection process to decide if he would stand as a Sinn Fein candidate in the upcoming General Election.
McGeough, from the Carrycastle Road, Gortmerron Dungannon, is accused of attempting to murder former UDR soldier Samuel Brush, possessing two Colt revolvers used in the attack on 13 June 1981 and two counts of being a member of the IRA on dates between January 1975 and June 1981.
His co-accused, 47-year-old Vincent McAnespie, from Aghabo Close in Aughnacloy, denies a charge of impeding the apprehension of McGeough by hiding the pistols.
It is the Crown case that McGeough was the gunman who was shot by the UDR soldier as he was later treated for a gunshot wound at a Dublin hospital before going on the run and that McAnespie hid the guns in a neighbours yard.
A defence barrister launched an "abuse of process application," arguing that the case should be stopped due to the assurances given to McGeough that he would not be prosecuted and because the length of time its taken to come to court has created a prejudice to McGeough's ability to defend the charges.
McGeough was eventually arrested in March 2007 as he left a polling station in Fermanagh where he was standing as a republican candidate.
Mr McDonald asked him directly if, before his arrest, "you were liable to be arrested" if he came back to NI?"
McGeough said he was visited by two RUC officers in a German prison in 1991 and thought extradition proceedings would be forthcoming but nothing happened and added that after he spoke with Mr Kelly, "I wondered at time if such a thing would happen".
Under cross examination from a prosecution lawyer McGeough conceded that he did not receive assurance from "any prosecuting authority or member of the government" that he would not face prosecution.
The lawyer put it to McGeough that in a letter from the NIO in January 2003, "it as made clear that you were liable to prosecution and arrest should you be in the jurisdiction" but McGeough claimed that was "never conveyed to me".
"When I was given the assurances by Mr Kelly I was of the opinion that this matter had been resolved and in the context of the time, everyone was speaking about meeting in resolution of the conflict and former 'enemies' were sitting around the table," claimed McGeough.
He did agree with the prosecution lawyer's suggestion that should he choose to do so, he could give evidence about the Crown allegations of him claiming asylum in Sweden or being treated in Monaghan Hospital, despite the time span from now till then.
