Coroner urges public inquiry into GAA official’s murder as inquest ‘compromised’

The public gallery in Belfast High Court was packed with members of the Brown family and supporters, including senior GAA officials

Sean Brown, 61, was abducted and killed by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones Club in Derry in May 1997. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA

A coroner has ruled that an inquest into the murder of a senior GAA official in Northern Ireland cannot proceed due to the extent of sensitive state material being withheld from the proceedings on national security grounds.

Announcing the Public Interest Immunity (PII) ruling in Belfast, Mr Justice Kinney said he will be writing to the British government's Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, calling on the British government to establish a public inquiry into Sean Brown’s killing by loyalists.