Protest against PSNI use of Public Interest Immunity in Noah Donohoe case

A protest has taken place outside Ballymena police station on Saturday morning, 6 August, against the PSNI’s use of a Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificate in the connection with the death of 14-year-old Noah Donohoe.

The PII certificate was granted by Secretary of State Shailesh Vara, and effectively permits the PSNI to conceal evidence relating specifically to the investigation into Noah’s death, which occurred in June 2020.

Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan joined others protesting at outside Ballymena PSNI station this morning.

Mr McGuigan said:

“It is disgraceful and totally unacceptable that the PSNI and the British Secretary of State would try and conceal vital information. We are talking about the tragic death of a 14-year-old child, his family deserves to have truth and transparency on what happened to this little boy.

“Sinn Féin have raised our concerns on the matter with Chief Constable, Simon Byrne where the case has been put that any application for a PII certificate is wholly inappropriate and is adding significant distress to the Donohue family.

“The application should be withdrawn immediately.

“We will continue to support Noah’s mother and his family every step of the way in their search for truth, transparency and accountability.”