Essex lorry deaths: Man from Northern Ireland appears in court in Dublin

A man from Northern Ireland has appeared in court in connection with the deaths of 39 people in a lorry trailer in Essex.

Eamonn Harrison, from Mayobridge in Newry, County Down, was arrested on a domestic, unrelated matter at Dublin Port in October which has since been resolved.

The 22-year-old did not speak at the High Court in Dublin on Monday amid proceedings over a European arrest warrant to transfer him to the UK.

He is one of four men who have been arrested or are wanted over the 31 men and eight women whose bodies were found in an industrial park in Grays on 23 October.

During the hearing, Tony McGillicuddy, instructed by Paul Tiernan Solicitors, applied for senior counsel representation for Harrison.

He said Harrison had an "income of modest means", to which the judge presiding over the case said he thought was suitable.

The court will make recommendations to cover the services of a solicitor, a junior and a senior counsel to represent Harrison.

No application for bail has been made, though draft points of objection to the arrest warrant have been assembled and will be submitted to the court by Friday.

Mr McGillicuddy explained the points of objection are to do with the contents of the warrant, and "uncertainties and conflicts that Mr Harrison argues arises in the warrant itself".

Harrison has been in Cloverhill prison since his initial arrest and will return to court in Dublin on 21 November.

So far, two people have been charged over the deaths in the UK.

The driver of the lorry, Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, Northern Ireland, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, and money laundering. He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 14 November.

A European Arrest Warrant has been issued and Harrison has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, human trafficking and immigration offences.

Brothers Ronan and Christopher Hughes, from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, are wanted on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.

In Vietnam several others have been arrested.

The trailer which the 39 victims were discovered in had come into the UK from Zeebrugge in Belgium but their routes from Vietnam have not yet been revealed.

Essex Police have released the names of the people whose bodies were found in the lorry container, confirming last week they were all Vietnamese nationals.

The youngest two were just 15 years old and the oldest was 44. DNA from families who believed their relatives were victims was used to identify many of them.

Update: This article was first published on 11 November 2019. Since the article was published, Essex police has confirmed that Christopher Hughes is no longer a person of interest in relation to this case. In October 2019, Essex Police issued a public appeal for information regarding the whereabouts of Christopher Hughes, but have since said that no further action will be taken against him. A police spokesperson said Christopher Hughes was initially identified as a suspect based on information and evidence, but added "He was later the subject of a voluntary interview within the Republic of Ireland" and "no further action will be taken against him".