‘No advance intelligence’ that could have prevented RUC officer’s murder

Constable Colleen McMurray, 34, was fatally injured, and the driver of the patrol vehicle left fighting for his life, when the IRA detonated an improvised horizontal mortar device at Merchants Quay in the city on March 27.

In 2004, the families of Constable McMurray and her injured colleague, Paul Slaine, made a complaint to the ombudsman’s office – listing a number of concerns, and raising questions, around the activities of an alleged police agent and the subsequent RUC investigation.

“Central to these complaints were allegations that members of the RUC may have known about the attack prior to it occurring but did nothing to prevent it,” the new PONI report, published on Thursday, said.

However, Ombudsman Marie Anderson’s report concludes: “I have assessed the intelligence which was in the possession of RUC Special Branch prior to the attack. I am of the view that police were not in possession of intelligence that could have forewarned of, or, if acted upon, prevented the attack.”

During the lengthy investigation, PONI official interviewed more than 90 witnesses, including 35 former police officers.

Although ruling out prior knowledge, the investigators reported “deficiencies in suspect and arrest strategies, failures to investigate evidential opportunities and failures to link prior attacks, which also involved the use of ‘flash initiated’ technology”.

Responding to the PONI claim of “investigative failings,” one of the former officers who helped spearhead the murder investigation said the report highlights the extreme difficulties faced when investigating Troubles-related paramilitary murders.

The deputy senior investigating officer (DSIO) has been particularly stung by claims that more could have been done to find potential witnesses close to the scene.

The ex-detective chief inspector, who cooperated fully with PONI, said he believes this is “unfair” and “unrealistic” criticism by those who have never policed in such a hostile environment.

“You have to bear in mind that in the weeks after the murder there were immense public appeals on television, radio and in newspapers appealing for information and witnesses,” he told the News Letter.

“Despite that, only one telephone call was received at the incident room, and that was from a local business person offering their condolences. That is the atmosphere in which we were trying to investigate.”

The PONI report also details how police officers and soldiers attempting to secure the murder scene were attacked by a large mob, resulting in eight baton rounds being fired and several arrests made.

“It was not a normal policing environment to be judged by normal standards,” the ex-DCI added.

The ombudsman’s report is also critical of police efforts to trace up to 200 people attending a republican event at Newry town hall on the evening of the attack.

However, the ex-officer said it would not have been an efficient use of his already over stretched resources to pursue the identification of republicans, in the hope of someone helping identify the IRA members involved, when the event organisers had already refused to cooperate.”

Identified by the cipher ‘Officer 7,’ the report records that he told the PONI investigators that he treated the function as “a main line of enquiry”, but added: “That to believe those people would assist this investigation is folly.”

He also told the investigators that efforts were made to interview individuals who attended the function but “not a scrap of information was received”.

He added: “The street on which the incident happened was lined with cars on the night of the attack. It was sealed after the incident. The registration details of every vehicle that was there was taken and the vehicles were not released until much later when the owners came personally to recover them. Special Branch checks were carried out in respect of all of those people.”

Asked if any relevant evidence, missed by the RUC detectives, had been uncovered by PONI, a spokesman said that ‘no such material was identified”.

He said: “The remit of the Police Ombudsman is to investigate complaints about police. It is the responsibility of the police to carry out an investigation into those who are responsible for an attack.

“Therefore, during the course of an investigation by the Police Ombudsman, where information which may be relevant to a police investigation is uncovered, that information would be made available to police.

“No such material was identified during the Police Ombudsman investigation into the events that surrounded the murder of Colleen McMurray and the attempted murder of her colleague.”

Mrs Anderson identified that RUC Special Branch did not provide colleagues with information about people it suspected were in the IRA and may have been involved in the attack.

She said this had the effect of undermining the RUC investigation, with several people never being treated as suspects.

“Special Branch had significant intelligence about Person A’s possible role in the development of detonation technology and possible links to previous IRA activity,” she said.

“In my view he ought to have been treated as a suspect but I have not been able to identify any legitimate reason why this did not happen.”

PONI also identified deficiencies in a number of other areas of the RUC investigation.

Mrs Anderson established that, from the outset, the CID suspect strategy relied heavily on the intelligence held within Special Branch.

However, she found that the dissemination of information from Special Branch to the RUC investigation team was inconsistent.

The investigation also established that the attack occurred when Constable McMurray and her colleague were serving their community in circumstances where the threat level in Newry was high.

She added: “The dedication of many police officers, often at great personal risk, to protect the public and their colleagues, represents high standards of professionalism.”

The report also states: “In this public statement I have highlighted examples of professional, diligent and resourceful investigative enquiries.

“There were also efforts to trace the component parts used in the construction of the ‘flash-initiated’ explosive device.

“Police liaised with colleagues in England, Germany, and the Republic of Ireland in an effort to progress these lines of enquiry.”

Responding to the PONI report, Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said: “First and foremost our thoughts today are with Colleen’s family and with that of her colleague.

“Their families know more than most of the sacrifices made by themselves and the wider police family during the troubles.

“On behalf of the Police Service of Northern Ireland I wish to express my profound regret at the loss of a highly esteemed officer and the life changing injuries suffered by our colleague in such tragic circumstances and extend our sincere sympathies to their families.

“Personally I would like to reflect on the bravery, professionalism and dedication of police officers who placed their lives at risk in order to provide protection for their colleagues and I welcome the fact that the Police Ombudsman has highlighted this in her report.

“The Police Ombudsman has found that police held no intelligence prior to the attack that could have prevented it. She has publicly stated that, in her view, that there were shortcomings in the handling of information and the subsequent police investigation, and for that I am truly sorry.”

ACC McEwan added: “As we have previously stated the practice and policies that govern intelligence matters and police investigations today are unrecognisable from what was in place at the time of the attack.

“I acknowledge the fact that the Ombudsman has recognised this in her report. I also acknowledge that the Ombudsman has recognised the operating context at the time; the lack of a legislative framework and the operational dangers faced by police officers serving their community.

“Sadly it remains the case that no person has been brought to justice for this terrible crime and today, with the publication of the Police Ombudsman’s report, details of this brutal attack are fresh in people’s minds,

“I would make a renewed appeal for the people who know who did this to come forward to us with information.”

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