Cecilia Keaveney
Question:105 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the status of the inquiry into the death of Mr. Robert Hamill. [19259/99]
Written Answers. - Northern Ireland Issues.
Cecilia Keaveney
Question:106 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the need for a full independent inquiry into the deaths of Mr. Robert Hamill and Ms Rosemary Nelson; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19260/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 and 106 together.
The murder of Robert Hamill as the result of an attack in Portadown on 27 April 1997 has been actively pursued with the British authorities, at official and ministerial level, through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. I met with Robert Hamill's family on 30 April 1998, and officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs, in particular through the Anglo-Irish Secretariat in Belfast, have closely monitored developments in relation to the case. The status of the RUC investigation has likewise been raised on a number of occasions with the British authorities.
Of the six people originally charged in 1997, only one was convicted on 25 March 1999 of causing an affray on the night in question, but not of murder. The British authorities have said that the RUC investigation is continuing in an effort to bring those responsible for the murder to justice, that the file on the case remains open, and that any new evidence arising would be acted upon.
The Independent Commission for Police Complaints – ICPC – supervised the RUC investigation into the actions of the RUC officers present on the night in question and the file was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for direction in February 1998. A decision not to proceed with any prosecutions of RUC officers involved in the case was made on 30 September 1999. An internal RUC disciplinary action against the officers is now being considered.
Following the decision on 30 September not to proceed with prosecutions of any RUC officers in relation to the murder, we have conveyed to the British authorities, through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, the widespread and deep concern that exists about this case, which is fully shared by the Government, and an urgent report on the matter has been requested. In the light of this report, I will consider what appropriate action to take.
Since the cold-blooded killing of Rosemary Nelson in March this year, the Government has impressed on the British Government that the investigation into her murder must be – and be seen to be – thorough, transparent and independent. The Government is keenly aware of the concerns which have been voiced in the Nationalist community and on the part of human rights groups, in Ireland and internationally, about the role of the RUC in that investigation. The Department of Foreign Affairs maintains ongoing contact on a broad range of issues relating to the investigation with the British authorities within the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Progress has been recorded, for example, in relation to the establishment and use of a non-RUC confidential telephone line. The Government will remain closely in contact with interested parties about the case and the conduct of the investigation.