Government takes legal action in relation to inquest into murder of GAA official Sean Brown in 1997

Sean Brown, 61, was abducted and killed by loyalist paramilitaries as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones Club in Co Londonderry in May 1997.

No-one has ever been convicted of his murder.

An inquest was under way into his death, but last month a coroner said it could not proceed due to the withholding of sensitive files.

Mr Justice Kinney said his ability to examine Mr Brown’s death had been “compromised” by the extent of confidential state material being excluded from the proceedings on national security grounds.

He said he would write to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, calling on the Government to establish a public inquiry into the loyalist murder.

On Thursday, the Government said it was making a legal challenge.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an application for leave to apply for judicial review has been made relating to the inquest into the death of Sean Brown.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage given the matter is now the subject of judicial consideration.”

In a statement issued by their solicitor, the Brown family said they felt the legal action was “an attack on the truth” and accused the Government of attempting to deny victims access to justice.

“We repose a high degree of cynicism as to the timing of the announcement of these judicial review proceedings, coming as they do on the on the actual date that a public inquiry decision was due,” the family statement continued.

“The Brown family are gravely concerned that this is a concerted attempt to tie them up in legal processes that could take years, and that they are being used as pawns in a wider attempt by the British Government to defend its indefensible approach to legacy.

“Today’s announcement has a retraumatising effect on a family but most specifically an 86-year-old widow, already coming to the terms with the facts that were permitted to emanate from the inquest process.

“We confirm that we retain instructions to issue our own proceedings, given the failure by the Secretary of State to make a decision within the proscribed time, in request of the direction of the High Court to convene a public inquiry.”

SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone described the British government decision to take legal action over the inquest into the murder of Sean Brown as “utterly disgraceful”.

He said the move will delay a decision over whether to grant a public inquiry into Mr Brown’s murder.

“The decision taken by the British government to instigate legal action over what occurred at the inquest into Sean Brown’s murder is a further insult to a family who have been through one of the worst ordeals imaginable over the past few decades,” he said.

"Not only did they lose their husband and father, a pillar of this community, in harrowing circumstances, but their plea for answers has been repeatedly thwarted by those wrapped up in their own interests, with no regard to truth and justice for this family.

“Sean Brown’s family have conducted themselves with the utmost dignity throughout these proceedings and their campaign, in stark contrast to those who wish to deny them the information they seek.

"It’s utterly disgraceful that yet another roadblock has been thrown in their way by a British government that has already shown great contempt for victims and their relatives and sought to close down routes to justice through their ill-intentioned legacy legislation. Now they seek to run down the clock for the family of Sean Brown.

“The coroner was clear that a public inquiry should be held into the murder of Sean Brown and that call has received vehement support across this island.

This latest attempt to stop the truth from being told must be resisted in the strongest terms possible and I will continue to stand with the Brown family as they continue their fight to secure a long overdue public inquiry and finally establish what happened to Sean and why.”