The PSNI has tonight been granted permission to hold Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams for a further 48 hours to question him on the murder of Jean McConville.
Adams was arrested on Wednesday evening after volunteering to meet with the PSNI to discuss the murder of the mother-of-ten, who was abducted from her flat by the IRA in December of 1972 and became known as one of ‘The Disappeared.’
Her body was recovered on a County Louth beach in August 2003 but Mr Adams denies any involvement in the case.
“Last month, I said that I was available to meet the PSNI about the Jean McConville case. While I have concerns about the timing, I am voluntarily meeting with the PSNI this evening,” he said ahead of his arrest on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, Martin McGuinness branded the move “political policing”, adding that the detention was “inextricably linked to the local government and European elections that will take place across this island in a few weeks”.
