THE FAMILY OF Sean Brown, a GAA official who was murdered in 1997, have said they are “devastated” that the British Government has rejected a coroner’s request for a public inquiry.
Sean Brown, 61, was abducted and killed by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones Club in Co Derry in May 1997.
No one has ever been convicted of his murder.
An inquest was under way into his death until March of this year, when a coroner said it could not proceed due to the withholding of sensitive files.
Mr Justice Kinney said his ability to examine Brown’s death had been “compromised” by the extent of confidential State material being excluded from the proceedings on national security grounds.
He said he would write to then-Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to call on the UK Government to establish a public inquiry into the loyalist murder.
The PSNI meanwhile said it would not stand in the way of a public inquiry and noted that it would be “an appropriate method to continue the investigation into the death of Mr Brown”.
PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher added that he supports a public inquiry and that in the event of one, the PSNI would enable “unfettered access to absolutely everything we have collected, including all the files that were redacted”.
However, in April the UK Government said it was making a legal challenge in relation to this request.
The following month, the GAA strongly condemned the refusal to give up sensitive information linking British Government agents to the killing and subsequent cover-up.
In a statement in May, the GAA said the organisation is “disappointed that the failure of British security forces to release material relating to the murder of former Bellaghy chairperson Sean Brown means an inquest cannot proceed”.
It welcomed the call from Coroner Mr Justice Kinney for a full public inquiry.
Current Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn was given until 5pm today to inform Brown’s family as to whether the British Government would order a public inquiry.
However, a legal firm acting for the family today said Brown’s family were “devastated” that Benn turned down this request and “ignored the explicit direction of a High Court Judge to convene a public inquiry”.
Sean Brown
— KRW Law Human Rights (@KRWLaw) September 13, 2024
We have just received an email from @NIOgov confirming that the SecofState has refused the direction of a High Court Judge and will not convene a Public Inquiry
Whereas the family are devastated, they will challenge this decision.
@FinucaneCentre pic.twitter.com/wHMHaW4Pd4
Niall Murphy of KRW Law the British State is “terrified that their carefully curated official history of the conflict is now being contradicted by judicially endorsed facts”.
He added that the decision will be challenged and that he “looks forward with renewed enthusiasm and vigour to our judicial review which was already listed for hearing on 26 September and 30 September”.
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