Former RUC officer to be prosecuted for offences including murder and conspiracy to murder

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/former-ruc-officer-prosecuted-offences-31191001

•Move comes after Police Ombudsman probe into 125 killings largely blamed on UVF

A former RUC officer is to be prosecuted for offences including murder and conspiracy to murder following a Police Ombudsman probe into 125 killings.

The news emerged on Thursday as the Ombudsman said they are pausing the publication of a report into the largely UVF linked murders in case it would prejudice the pending court case.

The watchdog’s ‘major legacy investigation’, named Operation Newham, is described as “one of the largest and most complex ever undertaken by the Police Ombudsman and encompasses 125 murders, largely attributed to the UVF, in the mid-Ulster and South Armagh areas of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland during the 1970s”.

The Ombudsman says the investigation has led to a decision by the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute the former member of the RUC for offences including murder and conspiracy to murder that occurred in Northern Ireland, together with an aborted attack in the Republic of Ireland.

In a statement issued today they added that in “light of the decision to prosecute, and having consulted with the PPS, the Police Ombudsman, Mrs Marie Anderson, has considered the content of her draft public statement on Operation Newham and concluded that to publish it would be potentially prejudicial to the future criminal proceedings”.

In order to “protect the integrity of those proceedings, the Ombudsman also considered the publication of a significantly amended version of the public statement” but concluded that a revised version “would not adequately address the complaints made by the families”.

Mrs Anderson added: “To publish the full public statement would potentially be prejudicial and I, therefore, gave careful consideration to publishing an amended form of the report. However, given the significant amount of linked information, such a report would be so substantially changed that it would not present a complete and comprehensive account of the investigation and could be misleading. It is my intention to provide as full a narrative as possible of all matters relevant to my investigation and its conclusions.

“The only viable option open to me, therefore, is to seek an extension to the timeframes permitted under the transitional arrangements of the Legacy Act for completion of reports before 30 April 2025. We are engaging with the NIO to ask that the deadline be extended to allow the criminal proceedings to take place, after which I will be able to report on Operation Newham in full.”

A PPS spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a decision was taken to prosecute one person reported on a file submitted by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland in connection with their Operation Newham investigation. The decision to prosecute the former RUC officer for offences which include murder and conspiracy to murder was taken in February 2024. Due to ongoing proceedings the PPS is unable to comment any further at this time.”

In it understood that the timing of the decision was in line with the Northern Ireland Legacy Act the enactment of which means that no fresh prosecutorial decisions on Legacy cases can be taken after 30 April 2024.