Further £25,000 payout for “outrageous wronging” in supergrass case

Punitive damages were awarded to relatives of victim Sean McParland as public condemnation of how the self-confessed killer was handled as a Special Branch agent.

Mr Justice Rooney said officers knew the leading UVF terrorist, referred to as Informant 1, had murdered others but continued to shield him from investigation and prosecution.

“The gravity of the arbitrary and outrageous conduct ... must be reflected so as to demonstrate that the law will not tolerate such behaviour,” he declared.

Mr McParland, a 55-year-old innocent Catholic who had been recovering from throat cancer, was shot dead as he carried out babysitting duties at his grandchildren’s home in north Belfast in February 1994.

UVF commander-turned-supergrass Gary Haggarty has pleaded guilty and been convicted of the murder as part of a huge catalogue of paramilitary crime.

Mr McParland’s four grandchildren have all sued the chief constable for alleged failures in how the RUC handled another paid terrorist agent involved in the sectarian assassination – Informant 1.

Compensation was sought for the mental injuries and trauma they were exposed to.

With negligence and misfeasance in public office accepted, proceedings centred on a dispute over the level of damages.

Earlier this year a grandson of Mr McParland who witnessed the murder was awarded £90,000 damages in the first stage of the action.

Michael Monaghan Jr was aged nine when the killers tricked him into opening the door to the family’s Skegoniel Avenue home.

He recalled one of the masked men pointing a gun at him and then seeing his grandfather get on his knees and begging them not to shoot.

A subsequent police ombudsman report linked Informant 1 to 10 murders, a further 10 attempted murders and a vast array of other serious crimes.

Those findings identified evidence of Special Branch collusion in blocking attempts to bring the agent to justice.

Following the ombudsman’s report former chief constable Sir Hugh Orde issued an apology for the actions of RUC officers. Changes to how police handled informants were also introduced.

The initial payout to Mr Monagan covered aggravated damages and post-traumatic stress for the unlawful actions to police officers and their “reckless indifference” to the consequences.

But in a further ruling yesterday, Mr Justice Rooney decided exemplary damages were necessary for punishment and deterrence.

“I have no hesitation in coming to a conclusion that the defendant has engaged in conscious wrongdoing which was so outrageous that it amounted to oppressive, arbitrary and unconstitutional action by servants of the government,” the judge confirmed.

The £25,000 payout is to be divided equally between Mr Monaghan and siblings who also sued the police.