Rosemary Nelson inquiry finds security forces did not collude

Northern Irish solicitor murdered by paramilitaries was, however, threatened by police before she was killed by car bomb The security forces did not collude directly with loyalist paramilitaries who murdered the Northern Ireland solicitor Rosemary Nelson, a public inquiry has concluded. But the 40-year-old lawyer was abused and threatened by Royal Ulster Constabulary officers before she was killed by a bomb under her car at her home in Lurgan in 1999, the inquiry found. The conclusion of the long-running inquiry was welcomed by the Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Patterson, as proof there had been no “conspiracy”. The report’s damaging passages, however, highlight concerns raised by human rights groups during the Troubles. Lurgan, in mid-Ulster, has been a centre of sectarian conflict. It is now the centre of resurgent dissident republicanism. Nelson, who represented clients in many terrorism cases, became identified in the eyes of local loyalists with republican clients. That perception was, at the very least, reinforced by the police, the report said. An assault on Nelson by officers in Portadown two years before her death “had the effect of legitimising her as a target” in the eyes of loyalists, it noted. RUC intelligence about her had also leaked out into the community. “There is no evidence of any act by or within any of the state agencies [RUC, Northern Ireland Office (NIO), the army or MI5] which directly facilitated Rosemary Nelson’s murder,” the inquiry concluded. “But we cannot exclude the possibility of a rogue member or members of the RUC or the army in some way assisting the murderers to target [her].” It added: “Some members of the RUC made abusive and/or threatening remarks about Rosemary Nelson to her clients. This became publicly known.” There was also negligence by state agencies which failed to protect her. Instead they rendered her “more at risk and more vulnerable,” the inquiry found. The local RUC – apart from “negligently” failing to stop officers from threatening and abusing her – failed to follow though on promises to pay special attention to her home and offices, it said. “There was a corporate failure by the RUC to warn Rosemary Nelson of her vulnerability and offer her security advice.” RUC Special Branch is criticised for providing “incomplete” cooperation. They are said to have been “over-possessive” about their intelligence. The NIO is blamed for dealing with warnings about the threat to her safety from human rights groups in a “mechanistic way” and for failing to get involved “proactively”. Presenting the report to the House of Commons, Patterson said: “I am profoundly sorry that omissions by the state rendered Rosemary Nelson more at risk and more vulnerable.” “It is clear that just as Lord Saville found no evidence of a conspiracy by the British state; just as Lord Maclean found no evidence of state collusion in the murder of [the loyalist] Billy Wright; so this panel finds no evidence of any act by the state which directly facilitated Rosemary Nelson’s murder.” Margaret Ritchie, leader of the Social Democrat and Labour party, said: “I am very disturbed at some of the findings of the inquiry into the murder of Rosemary Nelson. It is quite clear the report raises serious issues and identifies major failings. “Rosemary Nelson made it her duty to uphold law, order and justice on behalf of society and its citizens. It is clear that the authorities failed to uphold their duty of care towards her as a citizen and offer reasonable protection. “If these failings are not tantamount to collusion then exactly what do they amount to? “To this day no one has been charged with Rosemary Nelson’s murder – all efforts must be redoubled in order to bring those responsible to justice.” The RUC has since been reformed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Police Crime Owen Bowcott guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.