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| £26m bank robbery trial collapses | £26m bank robbery trial collapses |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The trial has collapsed of the only man charged with the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in December 2004. | The trial has collapsed of the only man charged with the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in December 2004. |
| Chris Ward, 26, denied facilitating the massive cash robbery at the Northern's Belfast headquarters. | Chris Ward, 26, denied facilitating the massive cash robbery at the Northern's Belfast headquarters. |
| He had also faced charges of robbing the bank and two further charges of falsely imprisoning bank colleague Kevin McMullan and his wife Karyn. | He had also faced charges of robbing the bank and two further charges of falsely imprisoning bank colleague Kevin McMullan and his wife Karyn. |
| The judge said: "Given the decision to present no further evidence, I could not arrive at any other verdict." | The judge said: "Given the decision to present no further evidence, I could not arrive at any other verdict." |
| The trial at Belfast Crown Court began on 9 September and lasted four weeks. | |
| The prosecution's case against Mr Ward, of Colinmill, Poleglass, was based on circumstantial evidence. | |
| The gang that robbed the bank had such detailed knowledge about its security procedures that detectives believed they had an inside man. | |
| Mr Ward's family was one of those taken hostage by the gang, but police believed the 26-year-old had been a willing accomplice. | |
| During his four-week trial there was no mention of the IRA, no details of what happened to the money, and ultimately no evidence that Chris Ward had been part of the gang. |