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Hamill family demand 'open' inquiry into mob killing
THE family of Robert Hamill, who was killed by a loyalist mob in 1997, last night demanded RUC officers stand up and be counted as an inquiry into his death faced more delays.
His sister Diane Hamill said the RUC officers who wanted anonymity in the inquiry should now be prepared to answer questions openly and with accountability.
The Hamill legal team won a House of Lords ruling yesterday which could open the way for such open hearings into the 25-year-old's death.
Robert Hamill was beaten to death by loyalists in Portadown, Co Armagh, while police allegedly watched and failed to intervene.
An independent inquiry was recommended by Canadian ex-judge Peter Cory to probe alleged security force collusion north and south of the Border.
But it stalled because 20 retired RUC officers claimed they would be in fear of their lives if identified in Sir Edwin Jowitt's inquiry.
Diane Hamill said last night: "They need to stand up and answer questions as who they are. People need to stand up and answer for their actions and lack of action."
The panel insisted that the inquiry, established in 2004 to decide whether the police committed any wrongful act or omission, will now go ahead at the earliest opportunity.
But Lord Carswell and the rest of the law lords sent a separate legal dispute about whether the panel's decision was reasonable back to the High Court in Belfast, leading to fears of further delays.
An inquiry spokesman said: "Now that the approach taken by the Robert Hamill Inquiry has been approved by the House of Lords it looks forward to commencing hearings at the earliest opportunity.
"If the subsidiary point is pursued it will be dealt with under special fast track regime. The Lord Chief Justice in Northern Ireland has directed that the necessary steps in litigation be dealt with 'in days and not weeks'." The inquiry panel was set up in December 2004 and members were originally scheduled to begin hearing evidence last September.
RUC members have denied witness claims that four officers in a vehicle saw what happened and failed to act. Hearings have been delayed for almost a year while the legal tussle continues.
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