Coroner asks for public inquiry into murder of Bellaghy GAA official Sean Brown

Mr Brown (61), was abducted by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) in 1997 as he was locking the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones and his body found shot at Randalstown.

Coroner Mr Justice Patrick Kinney said at a hearing in Belfast on Monday that Mr Brown's inquest could not continue due to material being withheld on the grounds of national security.

A lawyer for Mr Brown's family said they were "saddened and angered" that the inquest was being stopped.

The ruling was made after state agencies applied for multiple redactions on sensitive files related to the murder.

Mr Justice Kinney criticised the state parties for their handling of the disclosure process.

SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone, who attended Monday's hearing with the Brown family, said a public inquiry into Mr Brown's murder "must be held."

Speaking after the hearing, Mr McGlone said: “It’s absolutely disgraceful what the family of Sean Brown have been put through with the long-awaited inquest into his death falling apart due to material being withheld.

"They have been fighting for nearly three decades for truth and justice for their husband and father and this will further compound the grief they have been living with for so long.

“It is now clear that the only way the family will find out exactly what happened and why is through a public inquiry and the SDLP has long supported them in that campaign. I welcome the coroner’s decision to write to the Secretary of State urging him to call a public inquiry within a month and he must do so at the first opportunity.

“Sean Brown was held in the highest regard by his family, friends and the local community. He was a pillar of the GAA in this area and his death has cast a long shadow. It’s time that his family were given the answers they have been seeking since his murder and there can be no justification for anyone standing in the way of that."