There is no evidence the security forces in Northern Ireland colluded with loyalist killers in the murder of two Catholic brothers 14 years ago, the Police Ombudsman said today.
However an investigation by Nuala O'Loan found the police investigation of the murders by the Ulster Volunteer Force, despite early effort, was unacceptably flawed and cut short after three months.
Police ombudsman Nuala O'Loan
She upheld a complaint by the father of the murdered men that the police failed to conduct a thorough investigation.
She also revealed that Special Branch had not passed on all relevant intelligence to the police investigating the murders.
Gerard Cairns (22) and brother Rory (18) were gunned down by two masked men at the family home at Bleary, near Lurgan, Co Armagh, on the evening of October 28th, 1993.
No one has ever been convicted over the murders which happened in one of the bloodiest weeks of the Troubles.
The Cairns family lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman claiming the police and army had prior knowledge of the attack on the brothers, and that they had allowed a clear path for the murderers through what they believed was an unusually high level of security activity in the area.
The family also alleged police did not carry out a proper investigation and failed to keep the family updated on its progress.
Investigators from the Ombudsman's office examined police documents spanning nine years, assessed intelligence about the murder and interviewed serving and retired police officers, retired soldiers from the Royal Irish regiment and 54 civilians.
Mrs O'Loan concluded: "There is nothing to suggest that the security forces colluded in the brutal murders of Gerard and Rory.
"There is no evidence that the 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 Special Branch had failed to pass on all relevant intelligence to the police inquiry team, and she upheld the complaint the family had not been kept informed about the police investigation.
She said: "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."
She expressed "grave concern" the RUC had begun to wind down the investigation within just two weeks of the killings.
Mrs O'Loan added: "I acknowledge the enormous pressure on police officers during this difficult time. Nevertheless, it is unacceptable that the investigation effectively ended after just a few months and has not since been properly reviewed for new lines of inquiry.
Mr Cairns had alleged two local loyalists had carried out the murders but had not been charged because they were security force agents.
PA