A previously undisclosed jury statement on the controversial killing by SAS soldiers of an INLA man was revealed in the High Court in Belfast yesterday.
A hand-written note said the inquest jury could not agree if Alex Patterson, from Strabane, Co Tyrone, had "exited or attempted to exit" a car before he was shot dead outside the home of a member of the security forces in 1990. Following a three-day inquest last October, the statement was handed to the coroner, Mr Ronnie O'Doherty, who refused to disclose it and discharged the jury.
The victim's widow, Mrs Donna Patterson, of Church View, Strabane, applied for a judicial review in the High Court on the grounds that the coroner had failed to ensure that justice was done and was seen to be done.
The coroner said in an affidavit that he considered the jury's statement that it could not agree on one matter meant it had not agreed on a verdict. In accordance with his powers under the Coroners Act, he discharged the jury.
Mrs Patterson's application was dismissed by Lord Justice Nicholson, who said the coroner had properly exercised his discretion when he discharged the jury. He said it was unfortunate the parties were left in the dark, but if the coroner had read out the jury statement, it could have caused further uproar.
Lord Justice Nicholson said the coroner was obliged to hold a further inquest but this could be avoided if the parties could agree that the evidence pointed to the fact that Patterson was shot while in the car.