SINN FÉIN MP Chris Hazzard has welcomed a High Court ruling that police chiefs breached a legal duty to carry out an effective investigation into a fatal loyalist gun attack in Co. Down.
One man died and three others were injured when the UVF attacked the Thierafurth Inn in Kilcoo in November 1992.
Speaking from the court, Mr Hazzard called Friday's ruling a 'watershed decision'.
Plausible evidence of state collusion
Survivor John McEvoy, who was working in the bar that night, brought the application for a judicial review.
His application cited a 2016 report from the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland (PONI), which said suspects had been identified within a year of the attack.
Mr McEvoy's solicitors wrote to the PSNI asking when an effective and independent investigation would take place in light of the report, but claim no substantive response was received.
They added that the PSNI later denied that any investigative obligation arose pursuant to either article 2 or article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Mr McEvoy's application also relied on evidence from the 2017 Alex Gibney documentary No Stone Unturned, which named the suspects and suggested security forces had advance knowledge of the attack.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Humphreys said the material 'represents plausible evidence, from authoritative sources, of significant state collusion in the events under consideration'.
In his conclusion, he said: "The state has failed to carry out an article 2 or 3 compliant investigation into the attack within a reasonable time."
Flaws and failures
Mr Hazzard said the ruling highlights the 'damning levels' of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and the state during the Troubles.
"I welcome today's ruling by the High Court that found the British state has breached Article 2 & 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights on a number of loyalist murders and other attacks," he said.
"The court highlighted flaws in the original investigation, including the failure of the RUC, and latterly the PSNI to properly investigate and share new evidence.
"This is a watershed decision for families in South Down, and further exposes damning levels of collusion between the state and loyalist paramilitaries.
"All of these murders and attacks must now be properly investigated and those responsible brought before the courts.
"I want to commend all the families impacted by this case and their steadfast campaign to access truth and justice.
"They are entitled to justice and proper investigation. This must now proceed without any delay."
Despite the ruling, it could take years for any investigation by the PSNI's Legacy Investigation Branch to get under way, with more than 1,100 cases currently within the branch's Case Sequencing Model.
See More: Chris Hazzard, High Court, PSNI, Thierafurth Inn
