Inquiry into North mob murder will not be widened

A public inquiry into claims police failed to protect a Catholic man killed by a loyalist mob will not be allowed to widen its investigation, the North's Secretary of State Shaun Woodward ruled today.

Relatives of Robert Hamill, who was killed in Portadown, Co Armagh, in 1997, won a court challenge forcing Mr Woodward to consider extending the inquiry to cover the role of the Prosecution Service.

No-one has been convicted for the crime and in July this year a judge ordered that the Secretary of State consider if widening the inquiry was in the public interest.

Today Mr Woodward said: “After careful consideration, I have concluded that the public interest does not require an extension to the terms of reference of the Robert Hamill Inquiry.

“The Inquiry’s existing terms of reference already enable it to examine the actions of the DPP and his staff in relation to the investigation of Robert Hamill’s death.

“In light of this, and having considered all the relevant factors, I have decided it is not in the public interest to widen the Inquiry’s terms of reference.”