Michael Stone (loyalist) - Stormont Arrest

Stormont Arrest

On 24 November 2006, at 11.16 am, Stone was arrested for attempting to enter the parliament buildings at Stormont armed with an imitation Beretta 92FS pistol, a knife and a "viable" bomb, after placing 8 "pipe bombs" within the grounds of Stormont. One male and one female civilian security guard disarmed him as he entered the building, by trapping him within the revolving doors of the main lobby entrance. The security guards were injured during the struggle with Stone. Following the security breach, the building was evacuated and an Army Bomb Disposal Unit was called to examine the suspect device. Before entering the building he had scrawled an incomplete graffiti stating "Sinn Féin IRA mur" on the Parliament building. Later examination from the bomb squad has revealed that the bag that Stone was carrying contained between 6 and 8 viable explosive devices. Sir Hugh Orde, the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said "their potential for death, destruction and injury is being assessed" but added they were "fairly amateurish". As a result of Stone's actions, talks between political parties about power sharing and the election of a First Minister, which had only just resumed, had to be abandoned.

On 19 December 2006, Stone's defence lawyer Arthur Harvey, QC, claimed on his behalf that the Stormont incident was not intended to endanger the life of anyone. "It was, in fact, a piece of performance art replicating a terrorist attack", claimed Harvey. During his trial in September 2008, on 13 charges including the attempted murder of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, Stone repeated that his actions were "an act of performance art".

The then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Peter Hain) indicated that Stone's licence for release under the "Good Friday Agreement" would be revoked, and the full 638 year sentence for triple murder, terrorist charges and firearm charges be reimposed on him, in line with his sentencing in 1988.

On 25 November 2006, Stone appeared in court in Belfast charged with attempting to murder Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Stone faced a total of five charges of attempted murder following the incident at Stormont. He was also charged with possession of articles for terrorist purposes, possession of an imitation firearm in a public place, assault, grievous bodily harm, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of explosives. The court heard the articles allegedly for terrorist purposes included nailbombs, an axe and a garrotte. Michael Stone was remanded in custody until 22 December 2006. A letter written by Stone was published in the Belfast Telegraph on 29 November 2006. In the letter dated 24 November 2006, Stone described his "mission to Kill" Adams and McGuinness in detail, giving a description of his intended movements once inside the building.

On 14 November he was found guilty of attempting to murder Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. The judge said defence evidence that Stone had been taking part in some sort of a "comic parody" was "hopelessly unconvincing" and "self-contradictory". On 8 December 2008 Michael Stone received a 16 year sentence for his actions at Stormont.

As well as the two attempted murder charges, he was convicted on seven other counts, including possession of nail bombs, three knives, a garrotte and an axe, as well as causing criminal damage to the Stormont building.

Between his release in 1998 and arrest in 2006, Stone reportedly admitted several other acts of terrorism, including murder. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is currently drawing a case for these to be put to the judge in due course.