Britain Sends Senior IRA Die-Hard Back to Prison

In an exceptional move, Britain ordered a senior supporter of Irish Republican Army splinter groups to be sent back to prison today because of her alleged links to dissident threats against Queen Elizabeth II. Northern Ireland police rearrested 57-year-old Marian Price at a Londonderry courthouse after she received bail today; she had been arraigned on a charge of encouraging terrorism during an Easter event involving threats from masked members of the Real IRA splinter group.

Police accused Price of handling the script read aloud by a masked Real IRA member at a Londonderry graveside rally April 25. The masked man, one of seven at the rally, said Irish republicans should do whatever they can to disrupt the queen's four-day visit. Britain's secretary of state for Northern Ireland says he ordered Price to go back behind bars because she posed a potential threat to Northern Ireland citizens and the queen, who arrives in Dublin tomorrow. Her lawyer said the arrest "drives a coach and horse through the presumption of innocence." (More IRA stories.)