Judge to consider if action needed over Bryson ‘lies’ during Nama trial

The judge in the Nama trial is to consider whether further action is required after he said loyalist activist Jamie Bryson lied while giving evidence.

Mr Bryson was cleared of a charge of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.

But in his judgment, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said he believed Mr Bryson had “lied on oath” over communications in 2015 with former Sinn Fein MLA Daithi McKay, who was cleared of a charge of committing misconduct in public office.

Mr Bryson has insisted he told the truth during his evidence.

The trial had related to Mr Bryson’s 2015 appearance before a Stormont committee, chaired by Mr McKay, which was investigating the sale of Nama’s Northern Ireland assets to a US investment fund.

The criminal probe was launched after the publication of leaked Twitter messages between Mr Bryson, Mr McKay and the account of Thomas O’Hara, who at the time was a Sinn Fein activist in north Antrim, and who was also cleared this week of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

Mr McKay quit as an MLA within hours of the Twitter messages being published in August 2016.

In his evidence Mr Bryson said he did not realise the messages he was sending to Mr O’Hara were being relayed to Mr McKay.

In his ruling Judge Kerr said the Twitter exchange “only made sense” if Mr Bryson knew he was communicating with Mr McKay.

He added: “Mr Bryson may well have his reasons for lying. He has lived with this for 10 years, the investigation and charges for a period of five.

“He has moved on and is seeking a new career.

“It may be that he felt that by distancing himself from Mr McKay it would help him.”

The judge added: “Despite his lies in court, I am sure that Mr Bryson was at all times communicating with Mr McKay.”

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Lady Chief Justice’s office said: “HHJ Kerr is considering whether action is needed in light of his view that Mr Bryson lied to the court. ”

In a statement on social media Mr Bryson again insisted he had told the truth in his evidence and described the issue as a “sideshow”.

He said: “The aspect of evidence under contention related to my evidence as to my state of mind in terms of my belief that I was communicating with Thomas O’Hara which, obviously, I am the only person who can state definitively what my state of mind was.

“I stand over my evidence as to my state of mind.

“It was the truth.

“HHJ Kerr didn’t accept that was the case.

“I respectfully disagree with his obiter assertions in that regard but we will have to agree to disagree because there is no corroborating evidence either way unless someone is reaching into my mind and rewinding 10 years.”

He said: “This is respectfully a sideshow which I am not getting drawn into.

“I stand over the truthfulness of my evidence.

“I have the deepest of respect of Judge Kerr and ultimately I am not guilty. That’s the end of that.”