Police Must Take Open Approach in the North of Ireland
Posted by Jim on June 2, 2015
by Friends of Sinn Fein
THURSDAY’S BBC Panorama programme has raised fresh concerns about the nature and scale of security force collusion with paramilitary agents during the Troubles.
Chief Constable George Hamilton has also come in for criticism over remarks made about former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala O’Loan while the discovery in a London museum of a missing assault rifle used in the Sean Graham’s massacre has understandably incensed bereaved relatives.
Some of the most appalling examples of state collusion involving notorious loyalist killers has been well documented but there remains a lingering concern that the full picture has not yet been revealed.
The fact that attempts to hold inquests into some of the most controversial killings have been continually delayed and frustrated only adds to the sense that the British government and state agencies do not wish the entire truth to be told, even decades later in some cases.
Mr Hamilton has taken issue with Baroness O’Loan over her assertion that “hundreds and hundreds” of people died because police and British army informants were not brought to justice.
The chief constable challenged this claim and said the work of informants had saved “thousands of lives”.
He added: “It was her job to investigate this stuff.”
Given the public concern that exists over collusion it is important the most senior police officer in Northern Ireland sends out a clear message on this issue.
There will also be disquiet over the revelation that a Czech-manufactured assault rifle used in the killing of five people in a betting shop on the Ormeau Road in 1992 and which was believed to have been destroyed, was actually on display in the Imperial War Museum.
The museum said the gun had been supplied to them by the RUC’s weapons and explosives research centre.
However, according to Relatives for Justice, the RUC, PSNI and Historical Enquiries Team had told families that this gun – part of a consignment imported by agent Brian Nelson – no longer existed.
It is little wonder victims lose confidence in the police when they hear of unacceptable incidents such as this.
It is essential that a detailed inquiry uncovers the circumstances surrounding this matter and how incorrect information could be given to relatives by investigating authorities.
But of course, this is just one instance among many which continue to cause deep unease.
What is needed from the police is not a defensive attitude but an open, frank and pro-active approach to ensuring the full story of collusion is finally told