Family demands answers on Shankill bomb informer claims

A family devastated by claims that the IRA commander at the time of the Shankill Road bomb was an informant who told his handlers of the planned attack, is set to take the case to the Police Ombudsman.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Jan 2016, 09:00 BST
Updated 27th Jan 2016, 09:49 BST
Leanne Murray was 13 when she died in the bombingLeanne Murray was 13 when she died in the bombing
Leanne Murray was 13 when she died in the bombing

Gary Murray, 38, whose 13-year-old sister Leanne was killed as she ran into Frizzell’s fish shop to buy a tub of whelks at 1.05pm on October 23, 1993 – the time the bomb detonated killing nine innocent people and one bomber – said he and his mother Gina were “sickened to the stomach when we heard it”.

He said: “I don’t know if it is true and this is what I am trying to find out, but I am going to try to get to the bottom of it.

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“Our Leanne could have been alive to this day. That is what is hurting me and my mum the most.

Nine people and the bomber died in the 1993 IRA bomb in Frizell's Fish shopNine people and the bomber died in the 1993 IRA bomb in Frizell's Fish shop
Nine people and the bomber died in the 1993 IRA bomb in Frizell's Fish shop

“It is sickening. I haven’t slept and I have done nothing but cry. My mum is not too good at the minute either.”

Mr Murray said his younger sister would have been 35 now, “had she not been killed”.

He said he and his mother are determined to contact the Police Ombudsman “in a bid to get some answers”.

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“Going to the Police Ombudsman is the next move and we are going to file a complaint with them and see what happens from there,” he added.

Nine people and the bomber died in the 1993 IRA bomb in Frizell's Fish shopNine people and the bomber died in the 1993 IRA bomb in Frizell's Fish shop
Nine people and the bomber died in the 1993 IRA bomb in Frizell's Fish shop

“We need the truth and my sister needs justice and I am going to keep the fight up until I get it.

“Hopefully I will be getting an appointment with the Police Ombudsman soon because there will be more than me involved in this.”

Mr Murray spoke out after the Irish News claimed the IRA commander in Ardoyne behind the Shankill attack was an RUC informer who had told his Special Branch handlers of the plan to blow up the fish shop in an attempt to kill Johnny Adair in the UDA offices above Frizzell’s.

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The report is alleged to have emerged in classified files which were stolen by the IRA during a break-in at Castlereagh Police Station 15 years ago.

A spokesman for the Police Ombudsman’s office confirmed it has already received a separate complaint centring on concerns about the information police received and the subsequent police investigation, which it will assess to consider whether it should be investigated.

The spokesman said they received the complaint last week – before the allegations about an IRA informer were published in the media.

Related topics:IRA