O'Dowd criticises Baggott over inquest appeal

THE Chief Constable's decision to appeal a High Court ruling on controversial 'shoot to kill' cases has been criticised,

Sinn Fin Upper Bann Assembly member John O’Dowd said: “The families of those killed by the RUC in North Armagh in the early 1980s have fought a long battle for the truth. This has been met with resistance by the British government agencies at every turn. The fact that it has taken over 25 years in some of the cases to get to this stage in the inquest process says much about the British commitment to truth.”

PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott is to appeal a High Court ruling which supported the decision of the Coroner in a number of 'shoot to kill' cases, which would see the PSNI disclose the necessary information to the lawyers representing the families which would allow the inquests to proceed.

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Mr O'Dowd said: “In the course of recent months the Coroner has decided that the relevant information contained within the Stalker/Sampson Reports needs to be disclosed in order for the Inquests to proceed. The PSNI have consistently sought to resist this.

“This course of action is completely unacceptable. The PSNI should not be wasting its time and resources fighting legal battles to cover-up the activities of the RUC.

"Matt Baggott needs to step forward and show leadership on this issue. He needs to co-operate with the inquests not try and disrupt them further. These families deserve the truth and Sinn Fin will continue to support them in the time ahead.”