UNIONISTS reacted furiously last night after an IRA terrorist who murdered a special constable in North Yorkshire was told he can return to Northern Ireland without facing prosecution.
They condemned a decision to grant the Royal prerogative of mercy to Paul Patrick Magee, who gunned down special constable Glenn Goodman eight years ago.
He was jailed for life in 1993 but in 1999 was transferred from Full Sutton Prison, York, to the Republic of Ireland. In May, he was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Yesterday Magee, who was also sentenced to life in 1980 for the murder of an SAS captain, was given dispensation by the Queen, allowing him to return to the UK without fear of arrest.
This was confirmation of an announcement earlier in the year by Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson that convicted terrorists living outside Ulster would not be pursued by the British legal system.
Sinn Fein welcomed the dispensation which also applies to three other convicted terrorists.
But Democratic Unionist chairman Nigel Dodds said: "This is another outrageous concession to the IRA delivered under the Belfast Agreement."
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