Ballymurphy families to get 'significant' damages from Britain's Ministry of Defence

Families of those killed during the Ballymurphy Killings stand holding images of loved ones outside The Crown Court in Belfast today. A statement from the families said they had secured "significant payment in damages".

Civil cases brought against Britain's Ministry of Defence by the families of nine people killed at Ballymurphy in west Belfast in 1971 have been settled with undisclosed damages to be paid.

At the High Court in Belfast, Mr Justice Humphreys said that the settlement represented the "end of a very long process" for the families. The amounts paid out in each case were not disclosed in court but the judge ordered the MoD to pay legal costs.

A statement from the families said they had secured "significant payment in damages" to the families of Fr Hugh Mullan, Frank Quinn, Joan Connolly, Noel Phillips, Joseph Murphy, Daniel Teggart, Edward Doherty, Joseph Corr, and John Laverty.

Last year, a fresh inquest concluded that 10 people who died at Ballymurphy were innocent victims. The British army was found to be responsible for nine of the 10 deaths with not enough evidence to determine who fired the shot which killed the tenth victim.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued an apology to the families in Britain's House of Commons for the series of shootings over three days which came in the wake of the introduction of internment in Northern Ireland.

In court, Mr Justice Humphreys was told that the cases had been settled by consent. He said: "Can I congratulate the legal representatives for all their efforts. Lots of people are involved in reaching a conclusion such as this. 

"Also to the people for whom these cases have meant a huge amount.

This represents the end of a very long process which has seen the inquests go through many months of hearings and ultimately reach the conclusions you are all familiar with. 

"Those conclusions have meant that these proceedings have been easier to bring to resolutions. 

"As well over 50 years have elapsed since these events occurred, I am acutely aware of the significance of today as part of the process that all of you have had to go through."

A statement from the families said: "The conclusion of this case comes just over a year since the coroner Justice Siobhan Keegan found our loved ones entirely innocent.

"The coroner found the British army responsible for the deaths of our loved ones, however as we speak the Ministry of Defence haven't come forward with an apology.

"We have proven that current legal routes open to all victims of our troubled past do work despite the claims of Brandon Lewis and Boris Johnson to the contrary."