Image copyright PAcemaker Image caption Padraic Wilson and Sean Hughes had denied the charges of IRA membership

A major IRA membership trial has collapsed at Belfast crown court.

The case concerned an alleged internal IRA investigation after the murder of Robert McCartney 10 years ago.

The prosecution offered no evidence in the case against two senior republicans, 52-year-old Sean Hughes and Padraic Wilson, 55.

In a statement released after the hearing, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said a number of key prosecution witnesses had withdrawn their evidence.

The judge duly acquitted both men.

Mr Hughes, of Aghadavoyle Road, Jonesborough, south Armagh, and Mr Wilson, of Hamill Park, west Belfast, were facing charges including IRA membership and addressing meetings to encourage support for the IRA.

The meetings were alleged to have been part of an internal IRA investigation into the murder of father-of-two Robert McCartney, who was killed by IRA members outside a Belfast bar.

The meetings allegedly took place at Clonard Monastery in west Belfast and Holy Cross Church in north Belfast.

The charges dated back to 2005. The pair had previously pleaded not guilty to them.

The PPS said it was disappointed at the witnesses' decision and added that the case was ready to proceed to full trial next week.

"One witness expressed concerns in relation to a decision not to prosecute in a related case and also the selection of charges in this case," a PPS spokeswoman said.

The PPS had sought to address those concerns, the spokeswoman said, but was restricted in what it could discuss with a witness in ongoing proceedings.

The PPS also said there had not been any undue delay in the preparation of the case.

Neither Mr Wilson nor Mr Hughes appeared in the dock of Belfast Crown Court for the brief hearing, although both were present in the court building.