Man appears in court charged with murder of Danny McClean in 2021

A man has appeared in court in Belfast charged with the murder of Danny McClean in 2021.

Hugh Black, 50, of Rosehead, Belfast, appeared at the city’s magistrates’ court on Thursday where he was also charged with the attempted murder of Sean O’Reilly earlier this year as well as three charges of possessing firearms with intent to endanger life.

Mr McClean, 54, was shot and killed as he sat in a car parked in the driveway of a property in Cliftonville Road in February 2021.

Mr O’Reilly, 49, was shot twice while he was sitting in his taxi in the Bell Steel Manor area of Belfast on February 23 this year. He survived the attack.

Black appeared in the court following a technical issue with the videolink.

He said he understood the charges when they were put to him.

A detective chief inspector said he could connect Black to the offences.

The officer told the court police did not believe Black was one of the two gunmen involved in the shooting of Mr O’Reilly, but that he had acted as a “lookout” and was “crucial” to the plan.

The detective also said that two guns and a jacket were found in a nearby hedge following the shooting of Mr O’Reilly. One of them had its barrel detached and was faulty.

A defence lawyer raised objections to the alleged police identification of Black on CCTV close to the scene of the O’Reilly shooting.

The lawyer said there was no DNA, ballistics or forensic evidence linking his client to the incident.

No details were given in court about the murder of Mr McClean, but the lawyer said it was a “highly circumstantial case” against his client.

The court heard Black denied all the offences in a prepared statement to police after two days of questioning.

District Judge Anne Marshall said she was satisfied Black could be connected to the charges and remanded him in custody ahead of a bail hearing on Monday.