Judge rules government must set up Sean Brown inquiry

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn must set up a public inquiry into the murder of GAA official Sean Brown, a High Court judge has ordered.

Mr Brown, 61, was shot dead near Randalstown in County Antrim in 1997 after being abducted by loyalists.

Mr Justice Humphreys compelled an inquiry must be established after finding the UK Government remains in breach of a human rights duty to probe the full extent of state collusion in the May 1997 killing.

Granting a judicial review challenge by the victim's 87-year-old widow Bridie Brown, he held there is a "clear and unambiguous obligation" to establish a statutory probe.

"No viable alternative to a public inquiry has been advanced," the judge confirmed.

"In these circumstances, there can be only one lawful answer, a public inquiry must be convened to satisfy the state's Article 2 obligation."

BBC News NI have contacted the Northern Ireland Office for comment.

However, the government rejected this request.

Benn said he was "confident in the Independent Commissioner for Reconciliation and Information Recovery's (ICRIR) capability to deliver justice".

According to Mrs Brown, the decision to deny her a public inquiry into her husband's murder breached Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Her lawyers argued that it is the only plausible way to expose the full truth of state involvement and the level of protection given to the killers.

Barrister Desmond Fahy KC accepted that the chances of anyone ever being convicted for the killing are "vanishingly small".

But even though they may have escaped accountability, he insisted the reasons must still be examined.

Counsel for the Government argued that the challenge involved intruding into the separate role played by the government.

He insisted that the Secretary of State retains the discretion to establish public inquiries.

Mr Justice Humphreys said that "previous efforts to investigate this death have been wholly inadequate".

"The inquest process was frustrated at every turn by the failure of the state to comply with statutory disclosure obligations.

"These failings were so egregious that it led the coroner to question whether the non-compliance was part of a deliberate effort to prevent the inquest from discovering the truth."

Acknowledging it was an unusual and exceptional step to take, the judge concluded that it was fully justified by the legal principles and facts surrounding the killing.

"After 27 years, the United Kingdom has manifestly failed to investigate the murder of Sean Brown in which state agents were allegedly involved," he said.

"An 87-year-old widow does not know how, why or by whom her husband was killed."

He confirmed: "I therefore make an order of mandamus compelling the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to cause a public inquiry to be held, under the Inquiries Act 2005, into the death of Sean Brown on May 12 1997."