Winston Irvine sentence is 'too lenient', says first minister

The sentence handed to high-profile loyalist Winston Irvine for firearm offences was "too lenient", according to First Minister Michelle O'Neill.

Speaking at an NI trade event in London, the Sinn Féin deputy leader also welcomed that the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it was considering if there is legal ground to refer Irvine's sentence to the Court of Appeal.

On Tuesday, the 49-year-old of Ballysillian Road in north Belfast was given a two-and-a-half-year sentence, half in custody and half on license, after previously admitting to a range of firearm and ammunition offences.

Earlier, former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said he intended to write to the PPS.

Also speaking in London, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it would not be "appropriate" to make comment "while a possible appeal process is underway".

Upper Bann MLA Beattie described the sentence as "bizarre" following Irvine's choice to not give any explanation for the weaponry discovered in June 2022.

Belfast Crown Court heard Irvine had made no comment during police interviews, providing a prepared statement outlining his reputation as a "trusted interlocutor" during Northern Ireland's peace process.

During sentencing, the judge said despite the guilty plea, he did not consider the crimes to be connected to terrorism.

Beattie said that reasoning was "appalling".

"Here we have a man at a time when tensions were heightened in Northern Ireland due to issues around Brexit and the protocol who was found with weapons and ammunition," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show.

"How on earth the judge can say there was no terrorist link to this is utterly bizarre if we don't know what the weapons were for."

Irvine's co-accused, 54-year-old Robin Workman, of Shore Road in Larne, was sentenced to five years - the minimum custodial sentence.

Beattie said there were questions over why Irvine did not receive the mandatory term and said he will be writing to the PPS over the decision.

"I don't think that there is any exceptional circumstances to carrying guns around our city," he added.

"You can't say you're a peacemaker on one hand, and then during the day time you help move deadly weapons and ammunition around the place.

"The two don't match together."

The UUP's justice spokesperson said that the sentence sends out a bad message, and said the judiciary needs to get "a grip of this".

In a statement, a PPS spokesperson said while sentencing is a matter for the judiciary the director does have the power "to refer certain sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that they may be unduly lenient".

"An unduly lenient sentence is one that falls outside the range of sentences that a judge, taking into consideration all relevant factors and having regard to sentencing guidance, could reasonably impose," it added

"The sentence must not just be lenient, but unduly lenient."

The PPS has 28 days from the day of sentencing to submit an application for a review.

"We are considering whether there is a legal ground to refer the sentence in this case to the Court of Appeal," the spokesperson said.