McGurk’s relatives challenge findings
Posted By: September 26, 2015
Relatives of people killed in the McGurk’s Bar massacre will go to court today to challenge a police report into the atrocity.
Legal action was launched after the now defunct Historical Enquiries Team found there was no evidence of bias in the original RUC investigation.
Fifteen people were killed when the UVF detonated a bomb in the bar in North Queen Street in north Belfast in December 1971.
At the time security forces blamed the IRA but this was later shown to be untrue.
In 2011 relatives were given a boost when a Police Ombudsman report said there had been “investigative bias” in how the RUC handled the case.
It found that police failed to properly investigate loyalist involvement in the attack because they were focused on the IRA.
However, the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team later produced its own report which said there was no evidence of bias.
The conclusions are being challenged in a judicial review case today.
Campaigner Robert McClenaghan said the families want the findings that the RUC did nothing wrong to be overturned.
“Many of our family members are elderly and this may be their only chance to hear all the evidence in open court,” he said.
“We know our loved ones were innocent. We want Belfast High Court to agree.”
Meanwhile, relatives of those killed have criticised chief constable George Hamilton for his
response to questions raised about their case.
In a letter sent to Mr McClenaghan this week, the PSNI’s most senior officer said he was “confident” there would be “substantive developments”.
However, the campaigner said the letter “says absolutely nothing and has left our families confused and upset”.
A spokeswoman for the PSNI said the issues raised “have since been addressed and responses have now been sent directly to those who asked the questions”.
