Police ombudsman’s son faces sectarian abuse storm
Kieran O’Loan, son of Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan, is reported in the Northern media to have received a police caution following an incident in Ballymena at the start of last month.
The 18 year-old was allegedly among a group who shouted sectarian abuse towards members of the PSNI’s Tactical Support Group. Tensions were high at the march due to the recent murder of 15 year-old Catholic schoolboy Michael McIlveen.
The PSNI have confirmed that a youth was cautioned about his behaviour but a spokeswoman added: “No inference should be drawn about any individual.”
According to the Sunday Life newspaper the DUP will raise the matter with Chief Constable Hugh Orde as it is concerned there may have been inadequate action taken by the police service.
It quotes DUP MLA Ian Paisley Jnr as saying: “My understanding is that if remarks of a sectarian or racial nature are uttered, a report must be forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service for consideration as to whether a criminal prosecution should be brought. I do not believe that procedure was followed in this case and I want to know why.”
Meanwhile, Mrs O’Loan has claimed the police did not conduct a proper investigation into the IRA’s killing of mother of ten, Jean McConville, for more than 20 years.
A spokesman for the Ombudsman said: “The investigation established that there was no formal police record of Mrs McConville’s disappearance nor any investigation at that time to try and find her.”
Mrs O’Loan said she was upholding a complaint about the police investigation brought by two of Ms McConville’s children.
The investigation of her murder will now form part of the work of the PSNI Historical Enquiry Team.
Mrs McConville’s body wasn’t found until 2003 on Shelling Beach in Co Louth. She had been shot in the head No-one has been convicted of her murder.
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