Police did not leak murdered British agent Denis Donaldson’s whereabouts, concludes Ombudsman

The inquiry by the independent policing watchdog into Mr Donaldson’s killing also found that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had neither sought to implicate members of his family in the murder plot or impede a Garda investigation into the crime.

The Short Strand born republican was shot dead at an isolated cottage in Glenties, Co.Donegal in April 2006. A year before he had been outed as an informer due to a court case connected to a Sinn Fein spy ring at Stormont and the theft of sensitive terrorist intelligence files from Castlereagh RUC station in 2002.

In her report Mairie Anderson, the Police Ombudsman said she found no evidence that police leaked any information on where Mr Donaldson was living prior to his murder.

Mrs Anderson rejected complaints that the PSNI had in any way hampered the murder investigation by the Garda Siochana. His family alleged that during the final months of his life the PSNI withheld, suppressed and edited information about their contact with Mr Donaldson.

“There was a high level of cooperation and assistance provided by PSNI to the AGS (An Garda Siochana) investigation,” she said.

The Police Ombudsman did cite the PSNI’s failure to conduct a fresh risk assessment regarding Mr Donaldson’s safety after he was tracked down to the cottage in Donegal by a Sunday newspaper.

She said that while his family’s concerns over the PSNI’s management of the threat to Mr Donaldson after his Donegal address was exposed were “legitimate and justified,” the Police Ombudsman added that she could not conclude that “if such a risk assessment had been undertaken and shared with AGS, that the murder of Mr Donaldson could have been prevented.”

Addressing the victim’s family and their belief that there should have been a criminal investigation into the role of journalists, Mrs Anderson said: “I am of the view that there was no evidence that would have justified initiating a criminal investigation against any member of the media.”

In response to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland public statement, Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said: “I recognise the pain and suffering felt by the family of Denis Donaldson.

“We will continue to offer any support we can to An Garda Síochána as they continue their investigation and seek to bring those responsible to justice.

“We note the findings of the Ombudsman’s investigation and will now take some time to review her comprehensive report.”

The Real IRA only admitted that they killed Mr Donaldson in a statement at a republican rally three years after the murder.

One former police officer was interviewed under criminal caution on suspicion of having told a journalist that Mr Donaldson was an informant. The retired officer denied the offence. A file was sent to the Public Prosecution Service, which directed that the officer should not be prosecuted.

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