Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said he is taking steps to ensure a new truth recovery body is capable of carrying out an independent and rigorous investigation into the murder of Sean Brown.
The Secretary of State said he is “carefully considering” a recent judgment from the Court of Appeal in Belfast which stated that the Government’s failure to order a public inquiry into the killing of the GAA official was unlawful.
Mr Brown, 61, the chairman of Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in Co Londonderry, was ambushed, kidnapped and murdered by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates of the club in May 1997.
No-one has ever been convicted of his killing.
Last week, three judges at the Court of Appeal in Belfast said the Government’s failure to order a public inquiry into the murder “cannot stand” and gave Mr Benn four weeks to “reflect upon the judgment” before another hearing.
Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill wrote to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer this week urging him to establish a public inquiry into the killing.
Speaking during a visit to Coleraine, Mr Benn said he had brought the case to the Court of Appeal on the constitutional principle of who should order public inquiries.
He said: “I want there to be a full, independent, rigorous investigation into the murder of Sean Brown.
“That is not the issue at hand in the appeal.
“The appeal relates to a constitutional principle about who orders public inquiries in the United Kingdom, and the long-standing convention is it is governments and not the courts, and that is an important constitutional principle.
“Now, I understand why, from the Brown family’s point of view, they’re not concerned with that.”
Mr Benn had challenged an earlier High Court ruling that he must set up a public inquiry, instead arguing that the case could instead be dealt with by a new Troubles investigatory body, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).
Last week the Court of Appeal said the limitations of the ICRIR to deal with cases such as Mr Brown’s killing are “apparent”.
The panel of judges said the commission, as it is currently established, is not equipped to deal with cases which involve sensitive material.
Mr Benn said: “I am determined also to make sure that the independent commission (ICRIR) will be compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights, and what the courts are saying is there has not yet been an Article 2-compliant investigation into the terrible murder of Sean Brown.
“I want there to be an Article 2-compliant investigation into the murder of Sean Brown.
“That is why I’m taking steps to ensure that the independent commission has the capacity to do that.”
Last year a coroner halted an inquest into the killing, expressing concern that his ability to examine the case had been “compromised” by the extent of confidential state material being excluded from the proceedings on national security grounds.
Preliminary inquest proceedings had already heard that in excess of 25 people had been linked by intelligence to the murder, including several state agents.
It had also been alleged in court that surveillance of a suspect in the murder was temporarily stopped on the evening of the killing, only to resume again the following morning.
The ICRIR was established as part of the previous government’s contentious Legacy Act.
Mr Benn is repealing the Act but is retaining the ICRIR, stating that he wants to improve its disclosure regime and, in specific circumstances, enable the commission to hold public hearings.
