The sister of a man kicked to death by a loyalist mob has said she is confident there will eventually be an inquiry into her brother's death.
Ms Diane Hamill met the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, at Hillsborough yesterday to discuss her brother's case with him. Afterwards, she said she had been encouraged by the meeting.
Mr Robert Hamill, a Catholic, died in hospital in May 1997, 12 days after being set upon by a group of loyalists in the centre of Portadown after a night out. His family claims that a nearby RUC patrol did nothing to prevent the attack. The Director of Public Prosecutions, however, decided at the time not to prosecute the officers involved.
Ms Hamill said that, although she had been given no guarantees, the meeting with Mr Blair and the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, had been helpful. "I don't doubt that eventually we will get an inquiry, but today has helped. Mr Mandelson is taking a personal interest in it. He is definitely not ruling it out," she said.
A British government spokesman said Mr Blair was updating the family on the investigation.
Nobody has been convicted in connection with Mr Hamill's killing, and no inquest has yet been held because of the security risk to some witnesses. Last year a man was acquitted of his murder but sentenced to four years for causing an affray.
The Government, the SDLP and various human rights groups have backed the family's call for an independent inquiry.