Prosecutors should be looking at the prospect of putting IRA accomplices in the dock when they come to review the Clonoe inquest findings, the DUP has said.

The party was reacting to the news that the PPS is being asked to cast its eyes over the recent findings of the inquest into the killing of four IRA men in east Tyrone in 1992 to see if anyone who was there that night should be prosecuted.

This brings closer the prospect that the SAS team who killed the IRA men will be charged with criminal offences.

But it also increases the possibility of charges being brought against some of the other people who were believed to be present on the night of the Clonoe ambush, but escaped.

placeholder image — The aftermath of the Clonoe ambush, showing the IRA's heavy machine gun mounted on the lorry

They were codenamed CC1, CC2, and CC3 in the inquest.

Their identities were kept hidden by the coroner because they were never convicted in relation to the IRA operation at Clonoe.

The way the whole episode unfolded was as follows.

During the night of February 16, 1992, an IRA squad stole a lorry at gunpoint, mounted a heavy machine gun on it, and drove it to Coalisland RUC station where they opened fire.

They then fled to Clonoe chapel car park where they planned to make their escape in a series of waiting cars.

Their plan went awry when the SAS, who had been tipped off about the attack, ambushed and killed the four-man IRA team, three of whom also had assault rifles and were wearing balaclavas.

One of their getaway drivers was captured at the scene, while two others were arrested later; all three getaway drivers were convicted of assisting offenders.

But another getaway car managed to escape. It is believed this car contained CC1, CC2, and CC3, all of whom went to the Republic of Ireland.

CC1 gave evidence to the inquest where he “denied being shot and wounded at the car park and declined to respond to questions relating to the injury sustained to his back… he also refused to account for his movements after the Clonoe shootings and the allegation that he went on the run to live in Monaghan”.

CC2 also gave evidence to the inquest “but declined to answer questions relating to the planning of the attack at Coalisland RUC station or the events that unfolded at Clonoe chapel car park”.

CC2 “refused to answer questions around this or the leg injury which he allegedly sustained as a result of the shots fired by the soldiers” and “also invoked his privilege in respect of the period of time spent on the run”.

CC3 was the owner of a red Vauxhall Cavalier which was later found abandoned after the ambush. He left for Dublin that same night.

He had prepared a draft statement to the inquest (which he refused to sign) admitting to being one of the IRA team’s getaway drivers that night.

Also arrested alongside CC1 and CC2 at the same time in the Republic was another individual, CC4, about which nothing more is known.

Now Gavin Robinson, leader of the DUP, has told the News Letter: “I have written to the Irish Justice Minister and the Northern Ireland Secretary of State to establish what efforts were made to ensure these men were held accountable for their crimes.

“Whilst many will focus on the SAS soldiers, these three terrorists must be held accountable for their part in the attempted murder of RUC officers in Coalisland.

“The men shot in this SAS operation were not innocent bystanders, they were armed members of the Provisional IRA who had just launched an attack on Coalisland RUC station.

“The PIRA team had an anti-aircraft gun mounted on a lorry. This was one of the most powerful weapons ever to have been in the hands of the Provisional IRA. If the SAS had not captured that gun, heaven only knows how many innocent lives would have been stolen by the IRA.

“It is outrageous that the focus continues to be placed on those who upheld law and order rather than on those who waged a campaign of terror.

"The IRA members were engaged in violent, premeditated attacks and were prepared to kill.

"It is perverse that today, the very soldiers who protected innocent lives are being pursued, whilst Aidan McKeever, the IRA get-a-way driver, received a three-year suspended sentence and £75k compensation because he was shot.

"We will continue to work with colleagues in Westminster to ensure that the interests of those who served their country are not sacrificed in the name of revisionist history.”