Stardust victims’ families in meetings with legal team

A CONFIDENTIAL meeting between Stardust victims’ families and the recently established legal team overseeing an external examination of the 1981 fire tragedy took place yesterday.

Further meetings, which represent a significant step in the 27-year campaign for answers, will continue today with members of the Stardust Victims’ Committee scheduled to make representations to senior counsel John Gallagher.

Last night, committee spokeswoman Antoinette Keegan, who met with Mr Gallagher yesterday, declined to comment on the meeting.

“We were asked to keep the meeting confidential and we want to respect those wishes,” she said.

The meetings follow the Government ordering an external, independent examination of the tragedy and the appointment of Mr Gallagher to chair the external examination.

He will be required to report to the Government as soon as possible and recommend whether a new inquiry into the tragedy is required.

While the chairman may consider the issues raised by the Stardust Victims’ Committee in its lengthy submission Nothing But The Truth, he shall “not initiate any further investigations into the cause of the fire”, according to a recent letter from the Government to the families. Over the past 27 years, the families have disputed the original tribunal’s conclusion that the fire was a case of “probable arson”.

Following yesterday’s meetings, it is expected experts such as consultant forensic pathologist Dr Derek Carson and fire expert Robert Knox will be called to discuss their analyses on the cause of the fire.