McCartney family vow to take murder case to White House

The family of murdered Belfast man Robert McCartney has vowed to take its campaign for justice all the way to the White House if necessary.

Mr McCartney was stabbed to death during a row at a pub in the city on January 30.

His family have claimed that a senior IRA man was involved in the killing.

Although there is no suggestion that the murder was an IRA operation, the McCartneys have accused the republican movement of intimidating witnesses to prevent them from coming forward.

Speaking after a meeting with US consul Dean Pittman today, they said they would try to raise the matter with US President George W Bush if the 33-year-old's killers were not brought to justice.

SDLP leader Mark Durkan has already vowed to raise the matter with the US government's special envoy to the North during a meeting in Washington next week.