Mr Greaney will now address the court on Doyle’s previous convictions.
He says: “We will turn next to the defendant’s antecedents. The defendant was born on 4th November 1971. He was aged 53 at the date of his offending and is now aged 54.
“As a young man, the defendant served with the Royal Engineers and then with the Royal Marines for a period. It is important to understand something about that service. That is so for several reasons, including, first, because the defendant’s record of criminal convictions, to which we will turn, is interwoven with his military service.
“Second, because the media has repeatedly referred to the defendant as a former marine in its reporting, and there is a strong public interest in the public understanding that the evidence reveals no link between the defendant’s military service and his crimes.
“The defendant enlisted in the Royal Marines on the 11th of March 1991, at the age of 19, following a short period in the Royal Engineers.
“Neither during his period in the Royal Engineers nor during his period in the Royal Marines did the defendant see active service. He signed up for 22 years’ service in the Marines, but with the right to give 18 months’ notice from the 11th of September 1993.
“That meant that the earliest he should have been capable of leaving the marines was the 11th of March 1995, four years after he joined. In the event, the defendant was discharged on 20th January 1993, just 22 months after enlisting, so more than two years before the earliest point at which he ought to have left.
“The defendant was discharged from the Royal Marines on a basis that is commonly referred to as SNLR, or services no longer required.
“In other words, the Royal Marines no longer wished to retain him. The service records reveal that the defendant challenged his SNLR discharge, but was unsuccessful in doing so. Understanding the reason why the defendant was discharged takes us to his convictions.”
