Dame Brenda King

The families of Phelim McNally, Thomas Casey, Sean Anderson, Dwayne O’Donnell and Thomas Armstrong believe that the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was involved in their killings.

The Attorney General for Northern Ireland, Dame Brenda King, directed the fresh inquests yesterday as a result of “deficiencies” in the original investigations and inquests, and the emergence of new information and evidence including on the issue of collusion.

Gavin Booth, partner at Phoenix Law and the solicitor for the families, said: “We welcome the decision of the Attorney General to order fresh inquests into the above-named cases. For too long these families have sought answers as to what happened to their loved ones.

“New evidence which has come to light raises serious questions, not only about the involvement of the 8th Battalion of the UDR in all these killings, but also as regards the failure of the RUC to prosecute these individuals who were repeatedly killing members of the public in similar circumstances, using VZ58 weapons.

“Our clients are steadfast in their commitment to seeing these inquests completed. To be clear, this inquest and all those that are before the courts should continue. These families deserve that right and their inquests should be properly resourced and heard within a timely fashion.

“Our next step is to ask for this case to be urgently listed before the Coroners Court and for immediate steps to be taken to make sure this case goes ahead without delay.”