Rosemary Nelson inquiry: ‘no collusion’ in murder

An inquiry into the murder of Rosemary Nelson has concluded that there was no evidence of any act by or within any of the state agencies it examined, including the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), the army or the security service, which directly facilitated in the murder, but it did not rule out the possibility of a rogue member(s) in some way assisting the murderers to target the lawyer.

Mrs Nelson was killed in March 1999 following a car bomb attack outside her home in County Armagh in 1999. She represented a number of high-profile clients as a lawyer, including a republican paramilitary accused of killing two RUC officers.

At the time of her murder, it was suggested that British security forces were involved in her killing, with collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and the secret service.

However, the public inquiry found that there was no evidence of direct collusion between state agencies and loyalists who murdered the 40-year-old, but said that agencies did not take threats against her seriously, effectively not investigating them properly.

The report added that members of the RUC had legitimised her as a target by abusing and assaulting her in public in Portadown two years before her death.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it will carefully study the inquiry’s conclusions and discuss in detail the implications with the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) to ensure that the force is held accountable for any lessons and actions required.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott said: “I am particularly anxious that, in spite of the massive changes to policing over the past decade, such as the embedding of human rights and better support for victims, we move quickly if there is more to be done.

“I have often spoken in my time as chief constable of the immense courage, dedication and sacrifice of so many police officers over the years; a legacy that has provided the foundation of today’s (May 23) relative stability and optimism and kept countless people safe.

“That said, it is also only right and proper that I acknowledge when policing has fallen short of legitimate expectations and responsibilities. If not, we would neither justify the confidence all communities have in us today nor prove our genuine willingness to learn.”

However, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) said it was disappointed the inquiry was unable to find any evidence of collusion between security agencies.

Mike Ritchie, director of CAJ, said: “This is perhaps unsurprising considering that the terms of reference of the inquiry did not task it with examining collusion. However, given the range of acts and omissions which the report identifies, CAJ believes that had Judge Cory’s definition of collusion been used as a benchmark, collusion would have been confirmed.

“In particular, the report identifies a series of omissions by the Northern Ireland Office and the RUC, the combined effect of which was that the state failed to take reasonable and proportionate steps to safeguard Rosemary’s life. This is a very grave conclusion.”

Loyalist paramilitary group, the Red Hand Defenders, claimed responsibility for murdering Mrs Nelson in the attack, but no one has yet been charged for the killing.