The Police Ombudsman has found no evidence of security force collusion in the UVF murder of two young Catholic brothers in Co Armagh in 1993, but has found that the police investigation of the murders, despite significant early effort, was flawed and cut short after three months.
Gerard Cairns (22) and his brother Rory (18) were gunned down by two masked men who burst into the family home at Bleary, near Lurgan, at 8pm on October 28th, 1993. Earlier that evening the family had been celebrating the 11th birthday of Gerard and Rory's sister Róisín.
No one has ever been convicted in connection with the murders, which happened in one of the bloodiest weeks of the Troubles. A total of 23 people died in a series of attacks including the Shankill bomb and the attack on the Rising Sun bar in Greysteel.
The Cairns family lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman which included allegations that the police and British army had prior knowledge of the attack on Gerard and Rory and had allowed a clear path for the murderers through an unusually high level of security force activity in the area.
The family also alleged that the police failed to carry out a proper investigation and did not keep the family updated.
Police Ombudsman investigators examined police documentation spanning nine years. They assessed intelligence relating to the murder, obtained maps and documentation from the British army, and interviewed serving and retired police officers, 54 civilians and retired soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment.
The Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, said: "there is nothing to suggest that the security forces colluded in the brutal murders of Gerard and Rory.
"There is no evidence that police had any advance warning, that they knew Gerard and Rory would be targeted, and no evidence that they could have prevented the attack. This was a purely sectarian attack."
However, Mrs O'Loan said the investigation of the murder had been flawed, and revealed that the Special Branch had failed to pass on all relevant intelligence to the police inquiry team.
"Although much good work was done in the initial stages of the investigation, within three months it had been stripped of resources and had effectively ground to a halt.
"I have therefore upheld Mr Cairns's complaint that police failed to conduct a robust and thorough investigation of this tragic case."