‘Deliberate’ cable fires stop trains
WELLS IN COMPO DEMAND OVER ‘PRIVACY BREACH’
FIRES in clusters of electrical cables have caused a series of cancellations on the Paris train network, all but shutting down services.
Two fires damaged 48 cables, transport minister Clement Beaune said, describing it as “an act that is scandalous”.
The national rail operator, SNCF, said the cables powered signals for trains.
It filed a legal complaint, calling the overnight damage deliberate.
The motives for the apparent vandalism were unknown, but it largely shut down Gare de l’Est, with only services on three lines spared.
EVIL chainsaw killer Paul Wells is suing prison bosses from behind bars over claims they breached his right to privacy.
The Star can reveal that Wells (54) – who is serving life for the gruesome shooting and dismemberment of a mechanic – lodged High Court papers late last week.
Wells, whose address in court paperwork is given as Wheatfield Prison in west Dublin, alleges that the Irish Prison Service breached his privacy rights.
He claims that the IPS failed to protect his privacy under the terms of GDPR legislation. That legislation forces companies and State bodies to guard the data they have on people.
The IPS said it “does not comment on individual prisoner cases”.
It’s believed to be one of the first times that a prisoner has sued under the terms of the GDPR.
His case is being taken by Belfast human rights legal team KRW Law.
The Star has confirmed that KRW Law served the summons against the Prison Service, Minister for Justice Simon Harris and Attorney General
Rossa Fanning SC last Wednesday.
Wells is alleging loss, damage, nonmaterial loss and personal injuries because the IPS allegedly failed to protect his data.
He is now demanding compensation – including for psychiatric injury stemming from the alleged data breach.
Court
It would be several years before the case goes to court but Wells is not likely to be released until 2035 at the earliest.
He was caged for life in November 2018 for the 2016 murder of Kenneth O’Brien at Wells’ home in Barnamore Park, Finglas, Dublin.
He admitted shooting dead fellow Dubliner Mr O’Brien and dismembering the father-of-five – but pleaded not guilty to murdering the 33-yearold on January 15 or 16, 2016. He was found guilty and jailed for life. He claimed the deceased had wanted him to murder his partner so he could take their child back to Australia, where he previously lived. He told gardai Mr O’Brien had brought a gun to his house for this purpose on the evening of the 15th but Wells didn’t want to do it.
He said a scuffle ensued when Mr O’Brien suggested he make it look like a sexual assault, that the gun fell, he got to it first and then shot his friend.
He said he then panicked, “chopped him into pieces” with a chainsaw the dead man had lent him, put his torso into a suitcase and dumped it in the Grand Canal.
The remains of Mr O’Brien were later discovered in a stretch of the canal in Co Kildare.