Campaigners hope inquiry exposes truth about Rosemary Nelson murder
Campaigners tonight hoped that a public inquiry probing allegations of security force collusion in the murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson will finally uncover the truth of the case when it releases its findings.
Mrs Nelson was killed in a loyalist car bomb attack in March 1999 but prior to her death she claimed to have received death threats from police officers.
As the year-long deliberations of the inquiry drew to a close and its judging panel begins to compile their findings, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) said the truth of the killing must now be revealed.
“Rosemary was a member of CAJ’s Executive Committee at the time of her murder, and we have campaigned alongside the family since that time to have the truth in relation to her death uncovered,” said the Belfast-based human rights group’s deputy director Aideen Gilmore.
“We appreciate the level of work that the Inquiry has already undertaken, and the formidable task it has ahead in preparing its report.
“We hope they will – as they have indicated – be bold in their conclusions to ensure that lessons are learned and that truth and justice can be delivered not only for the family and the wider public, but to honour Rosemary’s memory.”
After the lead counsel of the inquiry made final legal submissions to it today, the three-member inquiry panel will now begin the task of sifting through a huge volume of evidence.
No firm date has been given for when their final report will be delivered.
Mrs Nelson, 40, ran her own solicitor’s office in Lurgan Co Armagh and came to prominence after she took on a number of cases that were to become major controversies.
The mother-of-three represented the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition that opposed Orange Order parades through the Catholic enclave of the predominantly Protestant town of Portadown.
She also represented high profile republican Colin Duffy from Lurgan and was the solicitor for relatives of Portadown Catholic man Robert Hamill who was beaten to death by a loyalist mob amid allegations police failed to protect him and later helped his killers.
Mr Hamill’s murder is also the subject of a public inquiry held in the Interpoint building in central Belfast where Mrs Nelson’s Inquiry is also based.
Mrs Nelson was killed when a bomb exploded under her car outside her home in Lurgan.
The attack was claimed by loyalist splinter group the Red Hand Defenders, though allegations of a wider conspiracy involving security forces were quickly levelled over the killing.
The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry was launched after a lengthy campaign by her family, including her bereaved husband Paul.
A major police investigation failed to convict anyone in connection with the murder.
But an independent review of the case by retired Canadian judge Peter Cory ruled that there was sufficient evidence of collusion to warrant holding an independent inquiry.
After lengthy delays, the inquiry began its public hearings in April last year and heard from a string of witnesses including relatives and friends of the murdered solicitor.
The security force witnesses who gave evidence included former Royal Ulster Constabulary Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
The inquiry is being chaired by retired England and Wales High Court judge, Sir Michael Morland.
Its other two panel members are former Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Sir Anthony Burden, and former Chair of the Board of the Customs and Excise, Dame Valerie Strachan.
