Mountbatten child abuse allegation to be heard in Belfast court on Tuesday
"Central to the case are our client’s allegations of abuse by the late Lord Louis Mountbatten," KRW Law said.
Allegations of child abuse of a boy by Louis Mountbatten, late granduncle of Britain's King Charles III, will be heard in Belfast High Court on Tuesday.
A survivor of historical abuse in a children’s home in east Belfast in the 1970s has decided to waive his anonymity to make the allegations against Mr Mountbatten, who was killed in an IRA bomb in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, in 1979.
He was a cousin of the late Queen of England Elizabeth II and an uncle of her husband Philip.
Last month, abuse survivor Arthur Smyth’s legal team issued pre-action letters against a number of parties in the north as well as the British Secretary of State, the Chief Constable of the PSNI and the British Department of Health alleging negligence and breach of duty of care over Arthur’s time spent in Kincora and North Road Children’s Home in Belfast when he was a young boy.
On Sunday, Mr Smyth's legal team said it had filed a summons which will issue in the High court in Belfast on Tuesday.
"Central to the case are our client’s allegations of abuse by the late Lord Louis Mountbatten," KRW Law said.
Last month, the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, Marie Anderson, wrote to the former residents of Kincora Boys’ Home who had made complaints to her Office alleging failures by police to adequately respond to complaints of sexual abuse at the home.
The Ombudsman’s office identified that former police officers failed in their duty to the victims of Kincora because they did not act on the information provided to them during the 1973-1976 period.
Mr Smyth’s solicitor, Kevin Winters of KRW’s Historic Abuse Redress department said his client has shown resilience and bravery in taking the case and in going public for the first time.
He added: “Understandably many abuse survivors for reasons of obvious sensitivity choose to remain anonymous.
"Arthur’s decision to reveal his identity must be set against this backdrop. It is borne out of anger at systemic State cover-up on abuse at these institutions.
"He alleges to have been abused twice as an eleven-year-old by the deceased royal.”
Mr Winters said it is the first time such allegations against Louis Mountbatten have been into a court, adding: “That decision hasn’t been taken lightly. He understands only too well that it will be a deeply unpopular case with many people coming as it does within weeks of the passing of The Queen.”
But he said that litigation involving “mental, physical and sex abuse” isn’t being undertaken to deliberately offend sensitivities.
He continued: “It’s taken for many reasons including exposing perpetrators and the institutions or other agencies which helped suppress the truth.
Mr Winters said Mr Smyth has been on an “incredibly difficult journey” to reach a point where he feels confident enough to go public.
He added: “He and his family will require much-needed support in the next stages of their legal battle for some form of justice which to date has been denied to him.
"I wish him well. He deserves closure.”
- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
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