The case against him is based on his actions on 18 and 19 December 2004, his actions on 20 December (the day of the robbery), his original account of what had happened and a work rota.

Surveillance will play a part in the case. Ward said police bugged his home and a holiday apartment in Spain and went through his phone and bank records "in an attempt to frame me" but, he asserted, they had failed.

He was questioned for eight days, 24 hours longer than normal. His lawyers were barred from the hearing at which a judge gave police the additional time.

The British Law Lords are now deciding if the court acted correctly. A decision is due in the New Year.

Ward denies all charges. The prosecution alleges Ward's attitude when being held hostage in Loughinisland was strange: "He made a request to the hostage takers to get him some beer from the fridge and slept through part of the evening, " a lawyer said, adding that Ward had vehemently resisted Kevin McMullan's suggestion that they use their helpline supplied to bank staff.

Dominic McEvoy, 23, a builder and keen GAA footballer from Kilcoo, Co Down, is accused of robbery, the false imprisonment of Kevin and Karen McMullan, and having a gun or imitation firearm. He denies all charges. The prosecution case is based on circumstantial and forensic evidence. It was claimed in court that his DNA was found on a hat recovered in the McMullan's Loughinisland home.

Martin McAliskey, 43, from Coalisland, Co Tyrone, is charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the purchase, possession and sale of a white van used in the robbery. The self-employed salesman denies the charges.