Hoaxer who fuelled London's 7/7 terror

Local & National

Thursday, May 15, 2008

By Deborah McAleese

A Northern Ireland man who sparked a major terror alert at Heathrow and Stansted airports when he made a hoax bomb warning on the day of the 7/7 attacks in London, has been jailed for four months.

Shortly after four bombs exploded in the city, killing more than 50 people and injuring 700, blundering fraudster Stephen McEntee used his own mobile phone to call the newsroom of ITN in London and claim that Semtex bombs had been placed at the airports.

A full scale terror alert was ordered at the airports, which were already on a state of high alert following the morning rush-hour attack.

Nothing was found during extensive searches and several days later police investigations led them to McEntee's Irish Street home in Downpatrick where he was arrested and charged with making the hoax bomb call.

Downpatrick Magistrate's Court heard that the Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorist unit traced the hoax call to the 29 year-old's mobile phone.

He was arrested on July 18 and the following day admitted making the call and said he did it as a bet with friends.

His solicitor Joe Mulholland told the court it was a very serious offense which "he was never going to get away with".

"To his credit he never tried to hide from the truth. He admitted that it was his voice and didn't request that it be analysed which would have further drawn out proceedings and led to considerable expense," added Mr Mulholland.

"He appreciates that he inconvenienced society by his actions."

Magistrate, Mr Eamon King, jailed McEntee for four months telling him: " Anybody who, in this day and age, makes a hoax telephone call to an airport can only expect a custodial sentence."

The court also imposed a six month jail sentence after McEntee — who survived four murder bids following a feud with former loyalist terror boss Johnny Adair — admitted nine fraud-related charges. In 2005 McEntee obtained goods and money by passing stolen cheques.

It is the latest in a long line of con tricks that McEntee has been involved in. He has previously been convicted of a string of fraud charges — including running up more than £4000 on Ian Paisley Jnr's credit card.

McEntee first hit the headlines in 2001 when he gave out details of Johnny Adair's behind-bars drug dealing empire.

His revelations resulted in a series of attempts on his life, believed to have been ordered by Adair.

Among them was a failed bid to shoot McEntee as he drank in a Belfast bar and a bomb attack on the home of his ex-girlfriend.

Following the murder bids he moved from his home in north Belfast to Downpatrick.