The office of the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman has confirmed that an investigation has begun into a formal complaint against the Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, by the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) in connection with the death of the human rights lawyer, Ms Rosemary Nelson.
Ms Nelson was killed in a loyalist car-bombing outside her Lurgan home in March 1999. Before her death she had received written threats which she reported to the RUC. The CAJ complaint relates to the alleged failure of the Chief Constable to properly investigate these threats until after Ms Nelson's death.
A CAJ spokesman claimed the RUC had not asked for the originals of the threats until seven months after the killing to subject them to forensic and fingerprint examination.
"The failure to seek originals of the documents prior to Rosemary's murder led us to ask the Chief Constable for an explanation as to what investigative steps were taken by him during the seven months leading up to the murder. Despite repeated efforts, 17 months after first raising these matters we have yet to receive a substantive response," he added.
A spokesman for the Ombudsman, Ms Nuala O'Loan, said an official to head the investigation into the CAJ's complaint would be appointed in due course. The RUC said it was not aware of the complaint, but would not comment at this stage so as not to prejudice the investigation.