A public inquiry into the murder of Robert Hamill found that RUC officers in a Land Rover near the scene did not condone or collude with the attackers, but identified wrongful acts and omissions that obstructed the investigation.
Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic, was attacked by loyalists in Portadown, County Armagh, in April 1997. He suffered serious head injuries and died 11 days later. No one has ever been convicted of his murder.
Inquiry criticised the murder investigation
The inquiry examined whether RUC officers’ actions had facilitated Hamill’s death or obstructed the murder investigation. It found that Hamill had already been assaulted before officers in a nearby Land Rover got out. The report said the officers were unaware of the assault and attempted to restore order after leaving the vehicle.
However, it found that serving RUC officers committed wrongful omissions both at the scene and during the initial investigation. The report said officers failed to carry out an initial debriefing at the scene and immediately after returning to the police station. Several officers ended their shifts or moved to other duties without recording what had happened, which the report said seriously affected the investigation and amounted to negligence.
The inquiry also found that officers failed to properly search the home of a key suspect on 10 May 1997 for signs of destroyed clothing or all shoes that might have been worn. It said these omissions showed a lack of due diligence and that police failed to properly develop the investigation in several ways after six suspects were arrested in May 1997.
Report examined handling of evidence and tip-off
The report found that former police officer Robert Cecil Atkinson committed a wrongful act by telephoning a suspect. It said the suspect subsequently destroyed or made unavailable to police the clothes worn on the night Hamill was murdered.
It also found that treating a tip-off allegation separately from the murder investigation was negligent.
The report’s publication had been delayed by live legal proceedings. Those proceedings concluded in 2024 when Atkinson was convicted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
Family criticised lack of intervention finding
Diane Hamill said the failings identified in the report had allowed those who murdered her brother to evade justice. She also said the family was disappointed that the inquiry could not agree on the consequences for the officers in the Land Rover who failed to intervene while Hamill was being attacked.
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant described the inquiry’s findings as disturbing. Telling the Commons, he said the report was clear there had been no collusion with the attackers, while making serious criticisms of how effectively the murder investigation was pursued.
The inquiry produced a 290-page report and cost approximately £33 million.
Source: Evening Standard
