The barrister at the centre of an investigation into alleged RUC death threats against the murdered Lurgan solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson, has claimed she (the barrister) was the subject of a campaign to depict her as "a neurotic, republican nut". The Belfast barrister, a member of the Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC), said she was disappointed but not surprised at what she called a "backlash" against her report which was highly critical of the conduct of the RUC inquiry into allegations of some police officers issuing death threats against Ms Nelson.
The barrister told yesterday's monthly meeting of the ICPC in Belfast that it had been suggested that she had done work for Ms Nelson's firm of solicitors, giving rise to a claim that there was a conflict of interest in her supervising the RUC inquiry into the death-threat allegations.
The barrister said she had not worked for Ms Nelson, and if she had she would have made such a declaration because it would be a conflict of interest. There were also insinuations that the barrister was working to a personal or political agenda and an attempt to portray her as "a neurotic, republican nut".
"I would reject that inference outright, and I hope my colleagues would reject it outright," she said. The barrister added that it was very important that police officers should be aware that ICPC members supervising complaints against RUC officers were acting independently.
The barrister's complaints were prompted by what she viewed as some malicious media and more general comments about her being a Catholic, an Irish speaker and a member of the human rights body, Amnesty International.
She said that some of her colleagues in the ICPC had expressed outrage at the manner in which she had been treated following publication of her report criticising the RUC handling of the investigation into the alleged death threats against Ms Nelson.
The Bar Council and the Human Rights Commission had publicly expressed support for her and fully endorsed her professionalism as a barrister. The ICPC had thus far not issued such a statement. A public statement now would be helpful, she added.
Earlier at the meeting, on the proposal of the ICPC chairman, Mr Paul Donnelly, the members adopted a motion expressing solidarity with the barrister and collectively supporting her at "a difficult and stressful time". It was agreed that this expression of support, and a statement endorsing her professionalism, would be made public.
Meanwhile, a team of 54 detectives is now investigating the murder of Ms Nelson, the Northern Ireland Security Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, said yesterday in Belfast. "The team currently includes 14 members from outside the RUC whom he [Norfolk Police Deputy Chief Constable Colin Port] picked, and this number is set to increase," Mr Ingram said. The "bottom line" was that in the opinion of English officers and the FBI, supervising the investigation, RUC involvement was essential to the success of finding the loyalist bombers who planted a booby-trap device under Ms Nelson's car.
