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RTÉ News
30-04-2025
- RTÉ News
Report finds failures in original police investigation of Kingsmill Massacre
Karen Armstrong, sister of John McConville, who was murdered in the 1976 Kingsmill Massacre, describes her feelings after seeing the Police Ombudsman report into the original police investigation.
Belfast Telegraph
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
‘We are taking this to very end of the road': Sole survivor of Kingsmill Massacre keen to take next steps after Ombudsman report
On January 5, 1976, a minibus carrying 11 Protestant workmen was stopped by masked gunmen. Now known to be a Provisional IRA attack, 10 of the men were shot dead - with Alan Black the only one surviving, after being shot himself 17 times. The only Catholic among the group was identified and told to leave the scene before the killing began. No one has ever been charged with the murders. Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson has identified a series of failings in the original investigation of atrocity, including a 'wholly insufficient' deployment of resources to catch the killers. She had concluded that Mr Black's complaints were in large part 'legitimate and justified'. Karen Armstrong - sister of victim John McConville, who was killed that day, joined Mr Black on Tuesday and said: 'When you think of the failures that there have been in this case, with various things, just even investigating, and just all the evidence that wasn't looked after and kept; witness statements not taken, and there is a ream of that. 'So many people were not questioned, who were witnesses at the time, and the Ombudsman, she totally agrees that basically the failings are huge. 'So it's a relief, because it's been a long road for us, and all we have wanted is the truth, and we were probably never going to get the truth, but certainly after today, what we have felt was a problem, she has said 'yes, the failings are very obvious'.' The Ombudsman has invited both Mr Black and the family of John McConville, alongside their legal representatives at KRW Law, to discuss the full report once they have assessed it. Both families wish High Court action to be launched, which has been pending ahead of the inquest and Ombudsman findings. Barry O'Donnell at KRW Law said: 'We will assess that with a view to moving that forward. So the process, as Alan says, is not over 'til it's over.' Watch: Kingsmill report finds failings in original probe and 'wholly insufficient' use of resources to catch IRA killers Mr Black said that if an apology came from the police for their failings, it would not be 'anywhere near enough', but he also believes that the IRA should admit to their wrongdoings. 'The IRA should come clean. Now, for the sake of the families - most are in their 80s and 90s - so surely they could put out a statement, even an apology,' he said. 'I don't know that that would mean much to the families, but it was wrong. It was evil. But then they could point to the times that we lived in, which is true in a way, but at the same time, that was evil. 'That was an evil act. Just being killed because of your religion? That's never acceptable.' Mr Black also reiterated that he has 'no qualms whatsoever' with the police officers working during the time of the massacre, but instead he wants their superiors to be held accountable. 'These were battle hardened policemen. 'They would put their uniform on in the morning, and didn't know if they were going home at night. 'All these failures would not have been made by them. They would have put it in their notebooks, and put it to their sergeant and inspector and so on, and then somewhere, at some point, they said 'no, we're not going to go down that road', but then you have to ask yourself why? 'It's to protect an informer, and if they give up the informer, then we're going to look for his handler. 'So this is why they don't want this Pandora's box open, and it's my firm opinion, that Pandora's box has got to be opened, it's got to be given fresh air, and get this out of the way once and for all. 'We are going to take that right to the very end of the road.' One of the biggest issues that has 'hurt deep' for Alana, and a significant failing the Ombudsman has identified, is that one particular suspect in the Kingsmill killings never being interviewed or arrested by police. The individual, known as S104, 'usually travelled on the minibus, was not at work that day, and was named by the IRA as being responsible for the Kingsmill attack'. Barry O'Donnell of KRW Law said: 'Police were given information through intelligence that that person was linked to the attacks. 'That hurts Alan deep in particular, to find that some of their own workmates basically sat back.' The inquest into the Kingsmill Massacre concluded in 2023, after eight years. Mr Black feels it 'was not done in an open and honest way' and for that reasons, a public inquiry is needed. 'Public inquiries are very hard to come by,' he said. 'A lot of families need a public inquiry, ours included, but we're one of many that are calling for it.' Mr Black said that if an apology came from the police for their failings, it would not be 'anywhere near enough', but he also believes that the IRA should admit to their wrongdoings. 'The IRA should come clean. Now, for the sake of the families - most are in their 80s and 90s - so surely they could put out a statement, even an apology. 'I don't know that that would mean much to the families, but it was wrong. It was evil. But then they could point to the times that we lived in, which is true in a way, but at the same time, that was evil. 'That was an evil act. Just being killed because of your religion? That's never acceptable.' Ms Anderson examined the original Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) investigation into the crime following complaints by bereaved relatives and Mr Black. She concluded that their complaints were in large part 'legitimate and justified'. The ombudsman recognised the 'intense pressure and strain' facing RUC officers in 1976. Notwithstanding that context, she identified a series of failings in the investigation, including a failure to arrest and interview suspects and a failure to exploit ballistic links with other attacks in which the same weapons were used. She said there were also missed investigative opportunities and inadequacies in areas such as forensics, fingerprints and palm prints, and witness inquiries. Ms Anderson added: 'By today's standards, the investigative resources available were wholly insufficient to deal with an inquiry the size of the Kingsmill investigation. 'The situation was exacerbated by a backdrop of multiple terrorist attacks in the South Armagh and South Down areas that stretched the already limited investigative resources available even further. 'The detective leading the investigation had a team of eight to assist him in investigating 10 murders and an attempted murder, which was supplemented for only a matter of weeks by two teams of about eight to 10 detectives from the RUC's Regional Crime Squad. This was entirely inadequate.' Some of the families who lodged complaints with the Police Ombudsman made allegations of police collusion in relation to the Kingsmill attack and subsequent investigation. However, Ms Anderson highlighted that, due to a previous court judgment on the remit of her office, she was not permitted to offer a view in relation to claims of police collusion or collusive behaviours. The Provisional IRA long denied responsibility for the sectarian killings, with the attack instead claimed by a little-known paramilitary group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force. That group was long viewed as a front for the IRA, which was supposedly on ceasefire at the time. Last year, a coroner agreed with that assessment and, delivering his findings in a long-running inquest, ruled that the massacre was an 'overtly sectarian attack by the IRA'. The 10 men who died were Robert Chambers, 18, John Bryans, 46, Reginald Chapman, 29, Walter Chapman, 35, Robert Freeburn, 50, Joseph Lemmon, 46, John McConville, 20, James McWhirter, 58, Robert Walker, 46, and Kenneth Worton, 24.
