Man arrested in Portadown on terror charge granted bail

Paul Campbell, 37, of The Mills in Coalisland, appeared via video link at the High Court in Belfast today (Thursday).

The charge relates to an IRA grenade attack on Coalisland police station in March 1997.

Two men threw an improvised bomb at the station, but almost immediately an undercover unit of SAS soldiers opened fire.

One of the pair, Gareth Doris, was later convicted of the attack and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

He served two years in prison before being released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

The prosecution case is that the second man was Mr Campbell.

A blood stain, found on the back seat of a County Tyrone priest’s car, is the key evidence against Mr Campbell.

On Wednesday, he was granted bail by a district judge at Dungannon Magistrates Court, despite police objections.

The Public Prosecution Service indicated immediately that it would be appealing that decision.

At the High Court in Belfast on Thursday, the judge imposed strict bail conditions, including the wearing of an electronic tag and cash and cash sureties totalling £20,000.