SAS shooting of three IRA men at Coagh ‘justified’, coroner rules

https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2024-04-11/sas-killings-of-three-ira-men-justified

he use of lethal force by SAS soldiers in an ambush that killed three IRA men in Co Tyrone in 1991 was justified, a coroner has ruled.

Delivering his provisional findings in the Coagh inquest, coroner Mr Justice Michael Humphreys said he was satisfied the use of force was “reasonable” as the soldiers had an honest belief that it was necessary in order to prevent loss of life.

However, the coroner also concluded that the military operation was not planned in a manner which minimised to the greatest extent possible the need for recourse to lethal force

The inquest into the deaths of Peter Ryan, Tony Doris and Lawrence McNally in Coagh, Co Tyrone, on June 3 1991, opened in 2022.

The three men were intercepted as they drove in a stolen car through Coagh by SAS soldiers, who suspected they intended to murder a member of the security forces.

All three were shot dead in a hail of gunfire.

The inquest was told that up to 150 rounds were fired.

Delivering his verdict in the legacy case, Mr Justice Humphreys said McNally died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and heart, Doris as a result of gunshot wounds to the head and Ryan by a gunshot wound to the chest.

result of direct orders from above or merely reflective of attitudes of the time.

He added: “It can only be concluded that the RUC investigation into the shootings was woefully inadequate.

“A decision was reached and relayed to the DPP on the basis of untested and unchallenged accounts of soldiers.

“Evidence at the scene was wantonly disregarded. No questions were asked of those who had formulated the plan and its methodology.

“Had it not been for the holding of this inquest, many of the facts around these events would simply never have been known.”

The coroner said an issue of fact to be determined was whether any member of the IRA unit had fired on the soldiers, pointing out that several military witnesses believed they were involved in a gunfight.

He concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that no IRA member discharged his weapon.

Doris, said while they were disappointed at the finding that the force used was justified, they welcomed criticism of the army operation.

“The clients that I represent have always maintained there was a shoot-to-kill policy operating at this particular time. What these findings show is that a kill zone was effectively set up,” he said.

“The planning of the operation was deliberate to avoid an arrest situation, and as the coroner said we had an inevitable outcome.

“What we see in the aftermath is a very clear cover-up of that shoot-to-kill policy, both in terms of how the British Army destroyed a crucial video which would have assisted this coroner and important documentation relevant to the inquest, and as he describes it, the woefully inadequate RUC investigation meant that the full facts would never be before this inquest so that cover-up was also a critical part, in my view, of this operation.”