A man accused of the murder of Charles Bennett (22) believes he is a scapegoat for the "very determined men who carried out the brutal killing", a Belfast judge was told yesterday. The claim was made by a lawyer for Mr Thomas Allsop (45), from Grainne House, in the New Lodge area of Belfast, when he applied for bail in the High Court.
A Crown lawyer said police believed Mr Bennett was murdered by the Provisional IRA. When his body was found his face was partially covered with a pillow case, which was part of a matching set found in the flat at Grainne House in which Mr Allsop had been living.
Mr Andrew Donaldson QC, for Mr Allsop, said the evidence against his client was "extremely tenuous".
Bail was refused.