Kingsmills families urge new probe

Relatives of the 10 Protestant workers gunned down in the infamous Kingsmills massacre are to meet police again to press for a fresh investigation of the case.

The bereaved families held separate talks with British Secretary of State Owen Paterson, who said he could not intervene on their behalf, before they met with a senior police officer.

The pressure from the relatives comes after a report by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) confirmed the IRA was responsible for the murders and noted the original police investigation had missed opportunities.

The families, accompanied by Ulster Unionist Danny Kennedy, presented Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris with a file which they believe supports their calls for a fresh police probe.

The 10 men were forced from their bus as they returned home from work and were identified as Protestants before up to 11 republican gunmen opened fire on them in the south Armagh attack, 35 years ago.

Mr Kennedy said the families had fought for decades to secure the information on the case that was uncovered by the HET, but he said they would continue to press for further action.

“We have had some progress,” he said of the latest meetings. “We are obviously still in discussions with the PSNI. It has been taken very seriously by the PSNI and by the HET.

“It is a campaign that we believed in pursuing and we are committed to and we will maintain the need for a further police investigation.”

The relatives, who are also being supported by Democratic Unionist Jeffrey Donaldson, held separate meetings with the Secretary of State and with Assistant Chief Constable Harris.

In a statement, police confirmed they would study the file presented by the families before holding a further meeting with them.

“ACC Drew Harris met a delegation which included Mr Danny Kennedy MLA and relatives of those murdered at Kingsmills in 1976,” said the police.

“They provided him with a file which included information and a number of queries. ACC Harris undertook to study the file and commission work to address issues raised by the families. Another meeting will take place in approximately six weeks.”

The secretary of state said he had sympathy with the bereaved relatives but he said he had to respect the operational independence of the police.

Mr Paterson said: “We had a very good meeting. I think it’s very brave of the relatives to come to talk to me so soon after the HET report came out, because the emotions are as raw as they were on the day of this appalling event.

“I am fully aware that those who are close to those that were killed have lived with this terrible, terrible event all their adult lives, but we have always said that the rule of law should take its course.

“We’ve been quite clear that should the HET in its report bring forth evidence which could lead to prosecutions we would support them, but the decision on that must always be for the police.”

He told the BBC: “It is for the PSNI to make a decision. Right through the worst times of the past 40 years the Secretary of State has never interfered with the operational independence of the police force.

“We must stick by that. It would be quite wrong of me to go blundering in giving directions and I have absolutely no remit for that.

“Secondly, this is now devolved. There is a devolved policing minister, there is a policing board and those are the agencies to which the police are currently responsible.”

The HET review of the Kingsmills massacre confirmed the IRA was responsible, despite the use of a covername at the time of the attacks.

The investigators found that the weapons used could be linked to as many as 100 other killings.

On January 5 1976 the 10 textile workers were travelling home from work in the dark and rain in a minibus in the heart of rural Co Armagh when they were ambushed.

The gunmen allowed the only Catholic among the workers to go free.

The rest were lined up against the minibus. Only one man, Alan Black, survived. He suffered 18 gunshot wounds.

Nobody has been charged or convicted of any offence in connection with the killings. Many of the weapons used were later recovered and people were charged with other crimes.

The HET report said: “Failure to trace and interview a number of potential witnesses was a very significant missed opportunity at a crucial point in the investigation.”

It found that investigative opportunities which existed at that time cannot be recreated after this length of time, even though some of those not spoken to at the time have now been traced.

The HET said more determined oversight at a senior level within the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the police force at the time, should have recognised the potential for the team investigating the killings to be overwhelmed and for mistakes to occur as a result. It also said that additional resources should have been deployed in an investigation of this scale.