Crimewatch shown at murder trial

David McIlwaine and Andrew Robb were killed in February 2000

Extracts from the BBC's Crimewatch programme were shown in court on Monday as part of a double murder trial.

The programme featured a reconstruction of the murders of teenagers Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine outside Tandragee in February 2000.

Steven Brown, 28, also known as Steven Revels, of Castle Place in Castlecaulfield, denies murdering the teenagers.

His former friend Mark Burcombe has been giving evidence against him.

Burcombe, who has already pleaded guilty to involvement in the murders, said Mr Brown and another man, Noel Dillon, who is now dead, killed the pair.

The defence have accused him of making up his version of events at the behest of the UVF in order to frame Steven Brown.

They claim he fabricated much of his evidence after reading police notes and watching the Crimewatch programme.

Burcombe claims he did not see the programme, but only heard about it.

However, defence lawyer John McCrudden QC said a lawyer acting on Burcombe's behalf at a bail hearing in 2005 had told the court how his client had come forward after watching the programme.

I'm not here to frame anybody. I'm here to tell the truth of what happened that night Mark Burcombe

He also claimed Burcombe had told a Christian community worker that this was when he had decided to give himself up.

Mr McCrudden also said a detective would tell the court how Burcombe had told him the day of the killings was the worst day of his life while watching the Crimewatch programme was "the second worst" day of his life.

Burcombe insisted he had never seen the programme until it was shown in court on Monday.

"I'm not here to frame anybody. I'm here to tell the truth of what happened that night - that Steven Revels and Noel Dillon committed a double murder," he said.

Questioned by the judge, Burcombe said he had already been thinking about coming forward before he heard about the programme.

"I think it had all started when my partner had her child," he said.

"I had stopped drinking and doing drugs. Over that period of time reality kicked in and just at that point, when that (details of the Crimewatch programme) came on the news, I had to speak to somebody."

Burcombe, from the Ballynahinch Road in Lisburn, was initially charged with the murders, but pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm to Andrew Robb.

The case continues.