Spotlight rests on RUC role in Loughinisland attack

A long-awaited police ombudsman’s report into the murder of six Catholic men in Loughinisland, Co Down, in 1994 is to be published today.

The 150-page report by Dr Michael Maguire examines allegations of Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) collusion with UVF paramilitaries.

On June 18th, 1994, six men died when UVF gunmen entered The Heights Bar in the village and opened fire indiscriminately on customers watching the Republic of Ireland play Italy in a World Cup football match.

Lost their lives

Adrian Rogan (34), Patrick O'Hare (35), Eamon Byrne (39), Malcolm Jenkinson (53), Daniel McCreanor (59) and Barney Greene (87) lost their lives and five others were seriously injured. No one has ever been charged with the murders despite a series of arrests, searches and statements taken by police.

The new report is the second one compiled by the Office of the Police Ombudsman in the North. Families of the murdered men were critical of a 2011 report by former police ombudsman Al Hutchinson, describing it as a whitewash. His report said there had been major failings by police but there was no evidence of collusion with UVF members who carried out the attack.

The report findings were quashed at Belfast’s High Court after a legal challenge by families whose lawyers argued Mr Hutchinson’s findings were flawed. A fresh investigation was then launched by Dr Maguire.

As Dr Maguire's findings will be published today, PSNI Chief Constable, George Hamilton, has decided to postpone making a public announcement about the investigation into another high-profile conflict-era investigation.

‘Stakeknife’

Mr Hamilton had been due to set out the remit for the investigation into the alleged activities of an IRA double agent known as "Stakeknife", named widely as west Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci. He had also been expected to announce Bedfordshire chief constable Jon Boutcher as the lead officer in the investigation at a pre-planned meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

The inquiry will examine the agent’s alleged role in dozens of killings and what MI5 and the RUC’s Special Branch were aware of. Mr Hamilton said he made the decision to delay as “a mark of respect” to all the families and the public announcement about Stakeknife will now take place tomorrow.

Legacy

Dealing with the legacy of the past continues to be an area of focus in the North. Stormont politicians left it out of the recent Fresh Start Agreement and are "no closer to a deal on new mechanisms," according to Patrick Corrigan, director of Amnesty International in Northern Ireland.

Mr Corrigan has welcomed the reopening of the inquest into the 1974 Birmingham Pub Bombings and the recent start of an inquest into the 1976 Kingsmills massacre.

He called on the new Executive to provide Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan with the funding needed to deal with the backlog of Troubles-era inquests over a five year period.

Following May’s Assembly elections and appointment of the Executive, the draft programme for government framework 2016-21 was put out for public consultation. It committed to addressing the needs of victims and survivors and to “work to resolve the outstanding issues relating to the legacy of the past”.