LONDON (AP) — Three men were acquitted of murder Friday in the 2019 killing of Belfast journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot by a member of a dissident Irish Republican Army splinter group while covering a riot in Northern Ireland.
Justice Patricia Smyth regretted that her verdict would bring “little if any comfort or relief” to McKee’s family, but said the circumstantial evidence was insufficient for a conviction, following a nonjury trial held intermittently over the past two years in Belfast Crown Court.
“Lyra McKee’s murder was an act of senseless violence," Smyth said. “The gunman has never been brought to the court and the evidence against those accused of assisting or encouraging has fallen short of that required for conviction."
McKee, 29, was shot while standing near law enforcement officers observing an anti-police riot in Londonderry, also known as Derry, on April 18, 2019. Protesters had tossed fire bombs at police and torched a car before four shots rang out and a bullet fired by a masked gunman struck McKee.
No one was ever charged with pulling the trigger, but three other men, Paul McIntyre, 58, Peter Cavanagh, 37, and Jordan Gareth Devine, 25, were charged with murder as accomplices for encouraging or assisting the shooter. The three denied the charges but none testified.
The New IRA, a small paramilitary group that opposes Northern Ireland’s peace process, said one of its members accidentally shot the reporter while aiming at police.
McKee wrote about the challenges faced by the generation of “ceasefire babies” raised after the 1998 Good Friday peace accord ended three decades of sectarian violence. She was becoming an influential voice chronicling the legacy of the years of paramilitary violence carried out by Irish nationalists and supporters of remaining part of the U.K.
The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland and political leaders from Northern Ireland’s Protestant and Catholic communities were among the hundreds who attended her funeral. Her death helped feuding politicians revive Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government, which had collapsed in 2017.
The judge found McKee was murdered by a gunman who acted with intent to kill or seriously injure police to “guarantee the oxygen of publicity” from the fiery riot.
McKee's sister said that the system had failed her family and vowed to relentlessly pursue justice. She railed against a culture of silence in Northern Ireland, saying that not one of the 150 people who witnessed the shooting spoke out.
“People are afraid to speak out, they are afraid to tell the truth, they are afraid to share information that they have,” Nichola Corner said. "That culture of silence needs to stop in Northern Ireland. It is unfair to victims and it completely allows people with blood on their hands to walk free.”
The National Union of Journalists, which McKee was a member of, and Reporters Without Borders expressed their sympathy with her family and friends and said they were concerned someone got away with the killing.
“The authorities must continue to pursue all legal avenues to establish accountability and ensure that those responsible for Lyra’s death are brought to justice,” Felicity Garvey of Reporters Without Borders said. "Journalists cannot work freely and safely if those who kill members of the press can do so with impunity.”
Six other men were also on trial for charges related to the riot, but not for having a role in the killing. Four were acquitted of rioting while one, Christopher Gillen, 45, was convicted of riot and tossing fire bombs. Kieran McCool, 57, was convicted of assaulting a community worker.
Lyra McKee's sister Nichola Corner, center, speaks to the media outside Belfast Crown Court in Belfast, Ireland, where Paul McIntyre, Peter Cavanagh and Jordan Gareth Devine have been found not guilty in a non-jury trial of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, Friday July 3, 2026. (PA via AP)
Jordan Gareth Devine (centre) outside Belfast Crown Court, after a non-jury trial of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, Friday July 3, 2026. (PA via AP)
Peter Cavanagh leaves Belfast Crown Court after a non-jury trial of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, Friday July 3, 2026. (PA via AP)
Silverstone hasn’t changed a bit and yet Lewis Hamilton is ready for a British Grand Prix on a “completely different track.”
Hamilton coped best with adapting his driving style around Formula 1's new reliance on battery power to take pole position in qualifying for Saturday's sprint race.
Despite a slight wobble in the final corner, Hamilton held on to take pole by just 0.011 of a second at a track where he'd predicted he and Ferrari would struggle. The seven-time world champion stood atop his car and soaked in the applause as he waved to the crowd.
“I love this place, I love this crowd and I can’t express how big a dream it is,” he said.
Standings leader Kimi Antonelli was second fastest, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull ahead of Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc.
George Russell was only fifth after winning last week's Austrian Grand Prix, while McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were sixth and seventh in a throwback green-and-white livery.
Setting fast times at Silverstone is very different this year because of how the cars struggle to recharge their batteries around the high-speed circuit. Having only a single practice session on Friday, topped by Hamilton, made it crucial to adapt quickly.
With nine wins there, the most of any F1 driver at a single track, Hamilton knows his home circuit inside out.
Ahead of this weekend's race, he outlined how the 2026-specification F1 cars will struggle with Silverstone's long straights and fast corners.
The Ferrari star predicts cars running at reduced speed with empty batteries, because they need heavy braking zones to recharge the electrical power that's crucial to how they operate.
“This is going to be the most unprecedented weekend in terms of the power deployment," he said Thursday. “All of us drivers have been talking on the drivers’ chat just how poor the power is going to be through this track. We run out of battery power.”
The fastest way around Silverstone now involves easing off the power to recharge in what would normally be some of the most exciting corners, Hamilton predicted, adding it could be a setback for him and Ferrari.
“Normally the engine’s screaming as you’re going into Copse, and you’re holding on for dear life as you go through there flat out. This year, the engine will be coasting down,” he said. “Maggotts and Becketts is just not going to feel the same because I think you have to lift and coast or something through there for a period of time. It’s just a completely different track.”
Even before Friday practice, drivers spent plenty of time practicing for Silverstone on advanced simulators that mimic the behavior of the cars. Hamilton's comments line up with predictions by Verstappen, who said he “just started laughing” when he tried it out.
Despite the changes Norris, who won a thrilling British Grand Prix on his way to the title last year, says F1 can still put on a good show.
“I think Sunday will be exciting. On the outside I think it’ll be great," he said. "Certainly there’s going to be less challenges on the track itself comparing to what you’ve seen in the past few years.”
Racing at home has been bad luck in F1 recently. No driver has scored a point in his home race since Antonelli's ninth place at the Italian Grand Prix in September.
So far this year, Piastri failed to make the start in Australia and Leclerc crashed out in Monaco, leaving 12th for Carlos Sainz, Jr. the best by any driver on home soil.
Where better for that streak to end than Britain? Besides Hamilton's nine wins, Norris is the defending champion and Russell is coming off the victory in Austria last week.
To top it off, those three combined for the first all-British podium since 1968 at last month's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the qualifying session for the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after setting a pole position for the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Mechanics push Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli's car back into the team garage during the first free practice ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri's car back into the team garage during the first free practice ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
From left: Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad of Britain, Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, and Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland attend a news conference ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain attends a news conference ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain attends a news conference ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
