New inquests are to be held into the deaths of a civilian and eight IRA men who were killed in the SAS ambush at Loughgall, Co Armagh, in 1987, the advocate general for Northern Ireland Jeremy Wright has announced.
Previous attempts to prompt a fresh inquest into the killings had failed but now Mr Wright has said there is justification for a new inquest.
“The new inquests will establish who has died, and how, when and where the death occurred. The Coroners Service for Northern Ireland will now take this forward,” he said yesterday.
The Northern Secretary Ms Villiers, who had previously blocked new inquests on the grounds of British national security, had asked Mr Wright to rule on fresh inquests.
The Loughgall killings were the worst single blow suffered by the IRA during the Troubles in terms of loss of life.
A 36-year-old civilian, Anthony Hughes, who was driving his car into Loughgall at the time, was also killed by the SAS in the shooting.
His brother Oliver, who was in the vehicle with him, was hit 14 times but survived.
The British government later apologised to the Hughes family and confirmed Mr Hughes was “wholly innocent of any wrongdoing”.
