Decision not to prosecute ex-police officer ‘deeply disappointing but not surprising’

The majority of the murders took place during the 1970s.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it “carefully considered” all the available evidence in the investigation file submitted by the Police Ombudsman.

It said that one former police officer, referred to as Officer A, was to be examined in connection with the murders of 10 people.

Those deaths included the murder of Thomas McNamee, who was injured in an explosion at Crossmaglen in 1974 and died almost a year later.

It also included the murders of Colm McCartney and Sean Farmer at Altnamackin in 1975, as well as the murders of Trevor Brecknell, Patrick Joseph Donnelly, and Michael Francis Donnelly in 1975 at Silverbridge.

The murders of brothers Anthony, John Martin and Brian Reavey, who were shot at their home in Whitecross in 1976, and that of Patrick Mone in 1976 as a result of an explosion in Castleblayney, were also included.

Alan Brecknell, the son of Mr Brecknell, said the decision not to prosecute in his father’s case was “deeply disappointing but not surprising”.

He said: “The RUC was well aware of the identities of those who carried out these attacks while at the same time making sure not to carry out anything resembling a proper investigation.

“Rarely has the phrase justice delayed is justice denied rung more true.”

The PPS said it had determined that the available evidence was insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Martin Hardy, PPS assistant director, said: “All decisions as to prosecution are taken by an independent and impartial application of the test for prosecution.

“The standard of proof required to obtain a conviction in a criminal prosecution is high.

“The prosecution must establish beyond a reasonable doubt, through admissible evidence, the commission of a criminal offence by the suspect.

“After careful consideration, it has been concluded that the available evidence is insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of obtaining a conviction of Officer A for any offence.”

Mr Hardy explained that the key evidence in this case consists of a small number of documentary records containing allegations made by another person that Officer A was involved in the murders.

He added: “These allegations are, however, not in the form of witness evidence.

“Therefore any prosecution of Officer A would require a hearsay application seeking the admission in evidence of these documentary records.

“Prosecutors carefully considered issues impacting upon the credibility and reliability of this material and the lack of any other admissible evidence to provide independent support of the allegations.

“It was determined that there is no reasonable prospect of a court granting the application and admitting the evidence.

“It was considered that even if such an application was granted, given the identified issues with the material, little evidential weight would be attached to the material and, in the absence of other evidence, there is no reasonable prospect of conviction.

“Accordingly, the test for prosecution is not met.

“We have written to the families of the victims to explain in detail the reasons for the decisions reached in respect of their loved ones.

“Although we understand that this will be deeply disappointing to them, we have assured them that these decisions were taken only after a rigorous evaluation of all the available evidence reported by investigators.

“We are mindful of the continuing pain and distress of the families who have lived with the loss of their loved one for many decades.

“We have offered to meet them should they wish to address any questions they may have about the decision.”