O'Neill to raise Robert Hamill report with PSNI chief constable

The first minister has said the Robert Hamill report highlighted a "catalogue of failings, omissions and errors", and she intends to raise it with the Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI) chief constable.

An inquiry into the sectarian murder of Hamill, published on Monday, found police officers who were in a vehicle near the attack did not condone or collude with the attackers.

However, the inquiry said there were multiple police failings in the investigation, including a tip-off to a suspect to destroy the clothing he wore that night.

Robert Hamill was 25 when he died after he was beaten by loyalists in Portadown, County Armagh, in 1997.

The inquiry concluded in 2009 and its report was completed in 2011 but the findings could not be published until three prosecutions in connection with the case concluded.

The inquiry concluded that some of the mistakes in the investigation were negligent, while others were deliberate.

The 290-page report followed an inquiry which cost approximately £33m.

The report highlighted multiple wrongful omissions in the subsequent murder investigation including a failure to properly search the home of a key suspect.

BBC News NI has asked the PSNI for comment on the report's findings.

Speaking to reporters at Stormont, Michelle O'Neill said Hamill's family had shown "such dignity" during almost three decades of campaigning for truth and accountability.

The first minister added that the findings highlighted what she described as the "sectarian and partisan" nature of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) at the time.

She said she would support the Hamill family in whatever steps they decide to take next.

O'Neill added she would also raise the report with the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher during a scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said they "acknowledge the findings" of the inquiry report "relating to decisions taken by the previous Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions".

"These decisions were taken in the context of the complexities and challenges of the wider case at the time," they said.

The spokesperson said the DPP's office acted in good faith and decisions taken were finely balanced and strongly contested for many years before conviction".

"Our thoughts are with the family of Robert Hamill, who have waited many years for the publication of this report and for answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his tragic death," they said.

"We would like to offer to meet with the Hamill family to answer any questions they may have around the Inquiry findings which relate to prosecution matters."

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, Seamus Collins, the solicitor for the Hamill family, said the family are satisfied "to some extent, but not entirely".

"The family were aware that the remit of the inquiry did not include naming the individuals who actually attacked and killed Robert. It was known that the report would not name those individuals," he said.

Collins said he would consult with the Hamill family in the coming days and "advise them on any further possible action".

In Stormont on Tuesday, Finance Minister John O'Dowd asked why was the suspect's home not searched "properly".

"Why would you tell deliberate lies to the public prosecution service, why would you not follow up leads? And all of these things were done by the RUC and that is why the RUC had to be disbanded and that is why those who are looking for a return to Drumcree to stop in their tracks and reconsider what they are doing."

The DUP's Jonathan Buckley replied: "Please do not come to the house to mislead. To place a slur on good honourable, decent individuals that went around to protect life and livelihood in this country.

He added that his constituents are asking "how did it take £33m to reach that conclusion that there was no collusion in the death of Mr Hamill" and said: "They are asking 'where is the £33m investigation into the death of close to 300 members of the RUC."

The Alliance Party deputy leader Eóin Tennyson said his thoughts are with the Hamill family.

"No report can undo their loss or make up for the years they have invested seeking answers. However, the least we owe that family is to learn the lessons to ensure that the wrongdoing is never minimised and to ensure that all victims and survivors remain at the centre of our efforts to deal with the past."

The Leader of the Opposition at Stormont, Matthew O'Toole, said the inquiry findings are "scathing" on the RUC.

"There were Royal Ulster Constabulary members who served with decency but it is clear that there are many, many who did not including proven, proven allegations of collusion throughout the history of our conflict. That is why we required a new start in policing at the start of this century. That is why we required fundamental change."

Traditional Unionist Voice MLA Timothy Gaston said the "story" that RUC officers "sat in the Land Rover while Mr Hamill was killed" was "untrue".

"The report released conclusively finds that there was no collusion in this murder. In the Hamill case collusion was indeed an illusion. £33m of public money is an awful lot to spend to disprove that allegation. I think today of the countless families across Ulster who have never had a public inquiry."

Former police officer Alan Chambers, from the Ulster Unionist Party, said what happened to Robert Hamill was "disgraceful" and added that the officer convicted for conspiring to pervert the course of justice was more than a "rotten apple".

"But there seems to be this situation that people feel that everybody who was in the RUC was a rotten apple. I didn't know any police officer who came in to work in the morning with the intention of colluding to organise the murder of someone. Indeed they came in to protect the public."