PSNI to pay damages over loyalist murder collusion claims
The PSNI is to pay undisclosed damages to settle civil actions over alleged security force collusion in the loyalist paramilitary murder of four Catholics in the mid Ulster area, the High Court heard today.
Resolutions were announced in cases linked to separate gun attacks on Kevin and Jack McKearney, and Charles and Teresa Fox 34 years ago.
A UVF unit led by notorious loyalist terror boss Billy “King Rat” Wright carried out the killings.
Kevin McKearney, 32, and his 69-year-old uncle Jack were shot at their family butcher’s shop in Moy, Co Tyrone in January 1992.
Husband and wife Charles and Teresa Fox, aged 65 and 53 respectively, were gunned down at their home in the same village later that year.
Members of the Fox family and Kevin McKearney’s widow Bernadette sued the Chief Constable and the Ministry of Defence, alleging misfeasance in public office in connection with events surrounding the murders.
Their barrister, Des Fahy KC, told the court negotiations had led to the two cases against the PSNI being resolved.
“The settlement involves the payment of damages to the plaintiff by the first defendant only (the Chief Constable), along with their costs,” he confirmed.
Both actions against the Ministry of Defence were formally discontinued.
With relatives of the victims present in the public gallery, the judge said they had gone through a “torturous” process.
Mr Justice Rooney told them: “I can’t imagine the pain and suffering you have gone through since the murders. Four innocent victims were brutally murdered and their families devastated.”
Describing the cases as being close to his heart, he added: “I hope these civil claims give you some closure.”
Solicitor Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, who represented Bernadette McKearney and the Fox family, claimed it was the first time the state has acknowledged any role in what happened.
“For over 30 years the families have been denied both a proper investigation and an inquest,” he said later.
“We know there was collusion in these murders, so it’s time the state finally let the facts be known and ventilated in a public court.”
The four killings were part of a sectarian campaign carried out by the Mid Ulster UVF.
Kevin McKearney had been serving behind the counter of the shop when a gunman walked in and opened fire. He was shot repeatedly before the killer went to the rear of the premises to continue the attack.
Jack McKearney was shot in the neck and seriously wounded, dying from his injuries three months later.
A subsequent review by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) found no evidence of collusion but identified a series of other concerns.
Despite intelligence of a general threat to Moy and a specific threat to the McKearney family at the butcher’s shop, UVF terrorists were able to enter the village, carry out the killings and then escape.
“The HET concludes that the RUC did not put in place adequate security measures which could have prevented the murders of Kevin and Jack,” a report stated.
It also named Wright as being suspected of orchestrating the murders.
The paramilitary commander, who later quit the UVF to form the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force, was killed by the Irish National Liberation Army inside the Maze Prison in December 1997.
In September 1992, Charles and Teresa Fox were murdered at their bungalow in Moy.
Nearby telephone wires were cut before the gunman smashed a window with a sledgehammer and climbed inside the property to carry out the late night attack.
Charles Fox was shot four times at close range as he walked into the kitchen to investigate the sound of breaking glass.
When his wife heard the gunfire and ran towards him she was shot five times. Both victims died instantly. Two of the couple’s six children found their bodies the following morning.
The family claimed rogue members of the security forces colluded with loyalists involved in a campaign to murder Catholics in the area.
With Wright suspected of being a “protected species” as a security force agent, they alleged the killers were given free passage to and from the scene of the murders.
As well as cutting the phone lines, the family’s pet dog had been run down days earlier in an apparent effort to ensure it did not bark when the killers approached.
HET investigators concluded that two of Mr and Mrs Fox’s sons were probably the intended targets.
“After discovering they were not in the bungalow, the gunman callously shot their parents dead, the report stated. “Charlie and Tess were two innocent victims who were not involved in any way with terrorism.
“They were shot dead in a cold, calculated and premeditated attack in their home by members of the UVF.”