The Five Demands

John Leckey ha criticato la risposta del Chief Constable Matt Baggott, alla sua richiesta di rintracciare files relativi ad omicidi avvenuti negli anni dei Troubles

Il medico legale John Leckey aveva scritto al Chief Constable della PSNI, Matt Baggott, chiedendo di esaminare i files raccolti dal team di inchiesta guidata da Lord Stevens per stabilire se la documentazione assemblata possa essere riconducibile anche a casi di omicidio sui quali debba essere ancora aperta un’inchiesta.
Leckey ha manifestato disappunto al ricevimento di una risposta in cui Baggott “dà l’impressione di personalmente ritenere che la cosa non lo riguardi”.
Si sono tenute ieri a Belfast le udienze preliminare relative a due di questi casi: l’assassinio a Bellaghy di Sean Brown (61 anni) nel 1997 e l’omicidio di Liam Thompson a West Belfast nel 1994.
Il team di inchiesta presieduto da Lord Stevens, indagò sulla collusione tra le forze lealiste e lo Stato. Per questa ragione Leckey è fermo nella pretesa di sapere se tra i files raccolti ve ne siano di utili alla Corte per facilitare gli accertamenti del caso.
Richard Ferguson, rappresentante della polizia, invita il medico legale a considerare la lettera ricevuta come una risposta ‘dell’azienda’. La PSNI infatti sarebbe al momento impossibilitata a fornire un elenco degli individui nominati nella indagine di Lord Stevens perchè solo la metà dei files raccolti sono stati trasmessi a Londra.

Baggott and chief coroner at odds over murder files (Belfast Telegraph)
Northern Ireland’s senior coroner has criticised the PSNI chief constable for his handling of an official request to trace files related to Troubles murders.
John Leckey said the reply he received from the police in response to a letter to Matt Baggott asking for information gathered by an independent inquiry into historic loyalist killings was “far from satisfactory”.
“The reply gives the impression that he (Mr Baggott) personally felt it didn’t involve him,” he said. “My position is it does (involve him).”
Mr Leckey had written to the chief constable requesting he examine files collated by the inquiry team led by former Met Commissioner Lord Stevens to establish whether any papers relate to a series of murders that have still to go to inquest.
Preliminary hearings were held in Belfast into two of those deaths yesterday: Sean Brown (61), who was murdered by loyalists in Bellaghy, Co Londonderry, in 1997 and Liam Thompson, who was shot dead in west Belfast in 1994.
The Stevens Inquiry investigated allegations of state collusion with loyalist paramilitaries. Mr Leckey wants to know whether any of the killings due for inquest are mentioned in the inquiry’s documents. If they are, he wants the files disclosed to the court to assist his investigations.
Mr Leckey expressed his displeasure at the response he got from the police to his request for the archive to be searched. The PSNI letter did not indicate whether the papers would be examined.
Richard Ferguson, representing the police, urged the coroner to view the letter as a “holding” response. He said the police were not yet in a position to indicate what individuals were named in the Stevens documents because only half of the files had been delivered from London.
Mr Leckey said he wanted a more detailed response from the police to his request.