Police disclosure delays force postponement of Kevin McGuigan inquest

Police delays in disclosing sensitive evidence files linked to the murder of former IRA man Kevin McGuigan have forced the postponement of his inquest.

Coroner Paddy McGurgan expressed frustration at the PSNI’s handling of the disclosure process but said he had little choice other than to vacate the scheduled hearing date in May.

Mr McGurgan said pressure on court timetables and his own diary meant the “harsh reality” was the probe was now unlikely to be heard this year.

Mr McGuigan, a father-of-nine, was shot in the Short Strand in Belfast in August 2015. His murder prompted a political crisis at Stormont amid claims IRA members were involved in the killing.

The shooting followed the murder of ex-IRA commander Jock Davison in the Markets area of the city three months earlier.

Mr Davison and Mr McGuigan had been involved in a personal dispute. Police believe Mr McGuigan’s killers suspected him of involvement in Mr Davison’s death.

A preliminary inquest hearing on Friday was told that a police report to the coroner had made clear that detectives had not considered Mr McGuigan a suspect in Mr Davison’s murder, though the report added that “others” did.

(Belfast Courts)

The court also heard that Mr McGurgan has asked for a copy of a letter containing Mr McGuigan’s address that was found in the home of a suspect in his murder.

The full inquest had been listed to start on May 10.

Friday’s review hearing was told that the PSNI had now asked for a postponement.

Peter Coll QC, acting for the PSNI, said the scale of the task to process and security check the sensitive case files was larger than had been first envisaged.

He said officers were therefore unable to complete the work ahead of a scheduled pre-inquest hearing at the start of May when the coroner was to consider what material would need to be redacted.

“It is with regret that police instructions to me are that in effect that is simply not feasible given the size of the task that they face,” he said.

Mr Coll said the PSNI would work over the Easter period to establish a “likely, realistic and feasible” timescale for the completion of the disclosure process.

Laura McMahon, acting for the McGuigan family, said she had been repeatedly expressing concern over the time disclosure was taking.

“Obviously the next of kin are extremely concerned by this information,” she said.

Ms McMahon told the coroner the family was now facing the uncertainty of an unknown timeline for the holding of the inquest.

“I just want to express their frustration at what has happened and their concern and we would ask you sir to give some intense scrutiny to what is being said by the PSNI and what exactly it is they rely on to come to you at this late stage to move dates that so far have been agreeable to all parties,” she added.

Mr McGurgan said adjourning proceedings was preferable to pushing ahead with the May start date without all the relevant material being available to the court.

“I’m not sure I’ve actually got any choice in relation to the matter,” he said.

“The inquest while needing to be dealt with expeditiously also has to be done correctly.”

The coroner said he found the adjournment request “troubling”.

“The more I actually give in terms of allowing for purposeful delays it just never seems to be quite sufficient,” he said.

“My good will should not be misread in any way, shape or form by properly interested persons, particularly the Crown Solicitor’s Office.

“I am not enamoured by these requests that are coming to me for adjournments at a very late stage.”

Agreeing to vacate the inquest dates, Mr McGurgan set a review hearing for May 6.

Mr McGuigan’s death led then PSNI chief constable Sir George Hamilton to state that the Provisional IRA still existed and some of its members were involved in the murder.

He said there was no evidence the killing was sanctioned by the organisation.

The killing led to a period of instability at Stormont with DUP ministers engaging in a series of rolling resignations in protest at the IRA’s alleged involvement in the shooting.