29 Murders No convictions
Via Newshound
Victims campaigners hit out at PSNI after 12- year UVF killing spree results in no one being convicted of murder in the North of Ireland
By Ciarán Barnes
23/06/2006
Victims campaigners have called for an inquiry into the PSNI’s inability to secure murder convictions against UVF members responsible for a catalogue of murders since the 1994 ceasefires.
During the last 12 years the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) has killed 29 people.
However, no one has been convicted of the murders despite detectives questioning more than 100 suspects.
The closest the PSNI/RUC came to a murder conviction was when they tape recorded Co Down loyalist Thomas Maginnis admit killing rival loyalists Billy Elliott, Brian O’Rawe and William Paul in the mid 1990s.
However, Mr Maginnis was later freed after a judge ruled he would probably not get a fair trial because of inappropriate tactics used by police in obtaining a confession.
Only two people have been convicted of offences connected to the 29 killings, but none with murder.
Victims of UVF violence are deeply unhappy at the PSNI’s failure to put those who pulled the trigger or wielded the knife behind bars.
Many are convinced this is because those responsible are informants who are being protected by their police handlers.
Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan has spent the last three years investigating these claims and is currently in the final stages of preparing a report.
Raymond McCord, whose son Raymond McCord Jnr was beaten to death by UVF police informants in 1997, insists the organisation is “state run”.
He said: “If this was England or the south of Ireland there would be calls for the chief constable and Home Secretary’s heads. There should be a public inquiry into why no one has been convicted.
“I don’t believe there was a willingness on the part of senior policemen to catch these UVF killers. Certain officers tried, but they were prevented from doing their jobs because the Special Branch wanted to protect its UVF informants.”
Mr McCord’s claims have been echoed by retired CID detectives Jonty Brown and Trevor McIlwrath whose attempts to arrest UVF murder suspects, who also served as informers, were blocked by Special Branch.
Mr Brown said: “Could we have put the majority of them in jail in 1997, 1998, 1999? Absolutely. Lives would have been saved time and time again. There appeared to be no will to prosecute certain individuals.”
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Daily Ireland attempted to obtain an exact figure from the PSNI regarding how many people detectives had questioned about post-ceasefire UVF killings.
The PSNI refused to co-operate with our request. A spokesman said providing such details would not be in the “public interest” and would cost too much. Daily Ireland has referred the matter to the Information Commissioner. Raymond McCord views the PSNI’s silence on the matter as an admission of guilt.
“Their silence says everything. They don’t want these figures made public because it makes them look bad, it casts a light on what they were doing” said Mr McCord.
“It shows that the UVF was being protected, all you have to do is take a look at the facts - 29 killings, more than a hundred questioned, but no one convicted of murder. It tells its own story.”
