RELATIVES of eight IRA men killed in an SAS ambush as they were about to bomb Loughgall RUC station nine years ago have lost a High Court appeal for a new inquest.
Mr Justice McCollum said yesterday he would not interfere with the coroner's decisions at the inquest, held a year ago, as he had acted within his powers.
The judge dismissed an application for a judicial review of the coroner's decision not to give the families' lawyers advance copies of statements of witnesses or allow additional time to consider expert evidence, and his refusal to adjourn the inquest.
The lawyers had argued the decisions meant they could not effectively represent the families and properly pursue the question of why the IRA men were shot dead instead of being arrested.
As a result of the coroner's decision, the relatives walked out of the inquest at Craigavon when the jury returned a finding that the men died from bullet wounds.
Yesterday's application was brought by Mrs Amelia Arthurs, from Galbally, Dungannon, whose son Declan (21) was one of the IRA men.
The others were Seamus Donnelly (19), Michael Gormley (25), Eugene Kelly (25), Patrick Kelly, (30), Pa trick Kearney (32), Gerard O'Callaghan (29), all from Tyrone, and James Lynch (32), from Monaghan.
A ninth man, Mr Anthony Hughes (36), from Caledon, was accidentally shot dead as he drove past the ambush scene.
Ms Mairead Kelly, sister of Patrick Kelly, said yesterday's judgment reinforced their view that the inquest system was a "complete sham". She said "We have waited eight years for these documents and this hearing was over in one minute."
She was referring to the fact that the 16 page judgment was handed out and only a brief summary was delivered by the judge.