The 1974 Guildford pub bombings is to be one of the first cases investigated by a body set up to examine Troubles-era crimes.
The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) on Monday announced it has registered 85 enquiries from victims, survivors and families since it became operational four months ago. Of those enquiries, it said, eight have been accepted for investigation and are now in the “information recovery stage”.
The commission was created under the UK government’s controversial Legacy Act and is fiercely opposed by Northern Ireland’s main political parties, the Irish Government and victim support groups.
In its first update since it assumed powers to accept requests on May 1st, the commission listed the Guildford pub bombings on its website as a “current request” for investigation now accepted into the information recovery stage. No details of other cases were published.
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Soldiers Caroline Slater (18), William Forsyth (18), John Hunter (17) and Ann Hamilton (19) and civilian Paul Craig (22) died in the bombings – carried out by the IRA at the height of the Troubles – at the Horse and Groom pub, which was popular with soldiers, on October 5th, 1974. Another bomb detonated 30 minutes later at the Seven Stars.
Original inquest proceedings were opened and suspended after the Guildford Four – Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson – were convicted over the bombings in 1975. They were handed life sentences but had their convictions overturned in 1989 in one of the most high-profile miscarriages of justice in British legal history.
The ICRIR is led by retired judge Declan Morgan, a former lord chief justice for Northern Ireland, who said the public update reflected the body’s aim to be “open and accountable”. He said the ICRIR will “seek to present the unvarnished truth” but acknowledged it will be “difficult and complicated” to deal with events of up to 50 years ago.
“There are no quick wins and we must be thorough,” he said. “We must also not rush or cut corners, so that prosecutions and findings we make are well supported in evidence.”
Earlier this year, the Irish Government formally lodged an interstate case against the then UK Conservative government over the Legacy Act on the grounds it breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
Under the legislation,current methods of criminal and civil investigations and inquests into Troubles-related killings and transferred them to the commission ended. Despite pledges by the Labour government to repeal and replace the act, Ireland’s legal challenge remains live.
Asked on Monday if there was a role for the ICRIR, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin contrasted the approach of prime minister Keir Starmer’s government with the previous administration and said he welcomed the “significant change” on legacy issues.
Mr Martin met Northern Secretary Hilary Benn at the British Irish Association conference at the weekend, where he commented that the body required “root and branch reform”.
Speaking prior to an event in Newry on Monday, Mr Martin told reporters that he “warmly welcomed” decisions made by Mr Benn in relation to facilitating the return of Troubles’ inquests and civil cases as well as scrapping plans to grant conditional immunity to perpetrators of conflict-era murders.
The Tánaiste said he wanted the issue resolved “once and for all”, adding that victims’ families “need closure”.
Responding to commission’s caseload figures, the director of Belfast-based human rights NGO the Committee on the Administration of Justice, said the establishment of the body had “led to legacy investigations practically grinding to a halt”.
“Four months in, the ICRIR only has a caseload of eight investigations. This is very low,” Daniel Holder said. “Compare this to the hundreds of cases that were being dealt with by the Police Ombudsman, inquests, civil litigation and police teams that have all been shut down by the Legacy Act.”
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