John Sweetman
speaker
14,352 appearances
33 recordings
2 series
first heard Dec 2025
last heard 4d ago
John Sweetman’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 33 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 8.
Appearances
The thousand pounds he reportedly said, for every year he had spent detained.
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The newspaper agreed to arrange a meeting.
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But there was a problem.
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British press regulations strictly prohibited newspapers from paying criminals or fugitives for stories, unless there was an overwhelming public interest justification.
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Paying a man who had fled a psychiatric detention order arising from a double murder crossed a line few editors were willing to defend.
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And so the journalist tipped off the UK police, who in turn contacted the Guardian.
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The trap was set.
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On the day of the meeting, Gallagher drove to a supermarket car park in Oxford, expecting to meet a reporter.
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Instead, officers were waiting for him.
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He was pulled from his car and detained under the provisions of the British Mental Health Act.
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It appeared his years on the run were over.
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Then came the legal reality.
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Psychiatrists in England assessed Gallagher and consulted with the Central Mental Hospital in Ireland.
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Their conclusions stunned Irish authorities.
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Gallaher was not considered an imminent danger to himself or to others.
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He had committed no offense on British soil, and because he was regarded as mentally well, the authorities had no lawful basis to continue holding him.
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They were forced to let him go.
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The Irish government immediately sought advice on whether Gallagher could be extradited back to Ireland.
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But Gallagher was not legally classified as a convicted murderer serving a sentence, nor was he a fugitive from a criminal conviction.
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He was, in legal terms, an absconded psychiatric patient.
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Showing 441–460 of 14,352 · page 23 of 718
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