Further PSNI stonewalling at Sean Brown inquest

British authorities have been accused of defying court orders as a strategy to avoid an inquest going ahead into the 1997 murder of GAA official Sean Brown.

After missing court dates in March and June, the PSNI has again this week opted to withhold documents requested by a judge.

Representatives of the Brown family accused the police of engaging in a “determined effort” to ensure that the inquest cannot be completed into the murder of the 61-year-old father of six.

Mr Brown, a prominent figure in the nationalist community of Bellaghy in County Derry, was abducted and killed by loyalists as he locked the gates at Wolfe Tones GAA club in May 1997. No-one has ever been convicted of his murder.

Lawyers for the family of Mr Brown told a review hearing in his inquest that there was now a pattern of non-compliance with court directions by the PSNI .

KRW Law said there is now a strategy to avoid the inquest going ahead after the PSNI claimed that an unspecified “issue of sensitivity” had arisen in regard to the withheld documents.

The coroner in the case, Justice Patrick Kinney, expressed his frustration as the hearing was advised of even further delays in the disclosure of the Crown materials about the shooting.

The inquest is scheduled to resume next January. However, new legislation, which has just been passed at Westminster, means any inquests which have not reached their verdict by May 1st, 2024 will be terminated.

The PSNI’s barrister claimed the ‘public interest’ redaction process, by which documents are censored to protect British state security, is continuing. He also claimed further documents had emerged which required “collation”.

Justice Kinney described the lack of progress as “lamentable”, while the barrister for the Brown family, Des Fahy, told the court he had a “sense of disbelief” at the proceedings.

He added: “It is clear to us and the next of kin that there is now a culture and a pattern of non-compliance with court directions.

“This is not good enough and the explanations that you have heard are simply not good enough.”

He suggested the censorship process could be brought to a close by “radical steps”.

He said: “Our concern is that what is going on here is a determined effort to ensure that this inquest is not heard by the May 1st cut-off date. That is the inescapable conclusion of what is going on here.”

Justice Kinney said he would hold another review hearing on October 2nd. He said that if by then he was not receiving “the cooperation and assistance that I require” he would look at what powers were open to him to move the matter forward.

Urgent Appeal