Critics will see his announcement about a long-term plan to stand down as a means to deflect attention from the failure to reach a deal with the Democratic Unionist party aimed at restoring the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. Gerry Adams was unlawfully denied compensation after his historical convictions for attempting to escape from prison were overturned, a high court judge has ruled. His double was driven to the Maze where the plan was that he would be swapped for Adams in a visiting hut. Prison staff had been alerted, however, and Adams was arrested in the car park of the jail. He was later sentenced to 18 months in jail for the first escape attempt and an additional three years for the second attempt, after two separate trials before single judges sitting without a jury.

While Sinn Féin’s vice-president he plays a pivotal role in the hunger strikes in which seven IRA prisoners and three INLA inmates starve themselves to death for political status. The mass support on the streets for the hunger strikers convinces Adams of the need to engage in electoral politics. 1983 Deaglán de Bréadún, the author of Power Play: The Rise of Modern Sinn Féin, said: “It is hard to imagine him withdrawing entirely from political activity.” Adams, who is stepping down as Sinn Féin leader next weekend, said the British government “arguing that they’re going to leave the customs union and they’re going to leave the single market … will end up a complete disaster for people here on the island of Ireland”. Spotlight claimed the Provisional IRA’s South Armagh brigade rather than the Real IRA demanded Donaldson be killed in an act of revenge for his treachery. The former Sinn Fein leader confirmed it will be called The Negotiators Cookbook and will be filled with “some of the best-kept secrets of the Irish peace process”.The decision was a victory for Adams in a long-running case linked to his attempted escapes from Long Kesh internment camp, later known as Maze prison, in 1973 and 1974 at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He was convicted in 1975 of two attempts to escape lawful custody. The clear favourite to succeed Adams is the Dublin TD and Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald. I therefore conclude that the Department of Justice erred in law in determining that the reversal of the applicant’s conviction arose from a legal ruling on facts which had been known all along. I am satisfied that the applicant meets the test for compensation under the Criminal Justice Act 1988.” He also published a book of tweets, My Little Book of Tweets, with Mercier Press in Cork in 2016, hoping to "show the lighter side of his personality and allow the reader some insight into his private life." He is interned without trial in Long Kesh prison camp as an IRA suspect, but freed that summer to join an IRA delegation that held secret meetings with British ministers in London. 1973-76

Gerry Adams has said he is putting plans in place to stand down as leader of Sinn Féin, triggering speculation he may run for the Irish presidency.There is an onus on the British government to identify and inform other internees whose internment may also have been unlawful.” It contains some of the best-kept secrets of the Irish peace process,” he added, disclosing that he was also writing a book of short stories. Adams’s focus on Brexit and the EU is part of a strategic shift in Sinn Féin policy towards Europe. Justice for individual servicemen is to be welcomed. But the real significance of the Bill is for the collective – the reaffirmation of the obligation of the British State, as the legal governing power in Northern Ireland, enjoying a monopoly of legal armed force, to protect its servants. Not blindly, but properly. The regulations required that Northern Ireland secretary be involved personally in making any such decision.

The book - The Negotiators' Cookbook - was launched ahead of the festive season to raise money for Sinn Fein and Mr Adams said he had enjoyed writing it. If Adams stood for the position of head of state he would undoubtedly face serious questions about his alleged IRA past, including a number of atrocities during the Troubles. Adams says he has never been a member of the IRA. He continued: “I want to thank everyone who has welcomed me into their homes and communities and who have made me part of countless campaigns, countless elections and countless negotiations.”

This morning Martin McGuinness, Mary Lou McDonald and I met with the Congressional Friends of Ireland,” said Adams. So there’s not a chance that McGuinness – or any living terrorist godfathers would now be prosecuted and convicted for their crimes should some new evidence come to light. This represents a significant step towards restoring national self-confidence – not least with the Irish Government threatening to challenge British legislation through a possible (and highly unusual) interstate action against the UK in the Strasbourg Court.