MoD ‘exasperated’ at treatment of military witnesses ahead of legacy inquest

By Rebecca Black, PA

A lawyer for the Ministry of Defence has said they are “exasperated” at the treatment of military witnesses ahead of a fresh inquest into the death of a ten-year-old boy in 1975.

At a previous preliminary hearing ahead of the inquest into the death of Stephen Geddis, coroner Patrick McGurgan expressed frustration with the MoD over delays in the case.

Mr McGurgan emphasised he wanted to hear the inquest as planned in August, adding his time is otherwise booked until 2022.

Barrister Mark Robinson, appearing for the MoD at Belfast Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, questioned the completeness of material provided to military witnesses and the notice given to them ahead of the inquest.

He said letters to military witnesses went out between May 27 and June 15.

He said 15 of the 20 civilian witnesses recorded statements between January and March 2020.

“There are a number of significant steps to be taken by the MoD and their legal representatives, including consulting with the witnesses for the purpose of anonymity and screening applications, that has taken place, obtaining threat assessments, which can take six to eight weeks, those have been requested, considering whether any medical issues that may impact on the ability of a witness to engage in the process … again that is in train,” he said.

Mr Robinson said there “seems to be a great difference in what is happening in this inquest and what is happening in other inquests”.

He said no photographs of the area were sent to the military witnesses, and in relation to the soldiers who discharged their weapons, rules of engagement have not been provided in this case, while they were in other cases.

“We cannot fully consult with these witnesses until we have all relevant material placed before them, it is on the basis of fairness to the witness that they have everything relevant to their evidence before they consider engaging in an interview to be questioned about various aspects of this case relating to an incident which took place 45 years ago,” he said.

“We don’t have full disclosure, we are unable to properly consult with the witnesses and we say the significant delay in notifying military witnesses is causing significant problems.

“We are exasperated to say the least, in relation to how these military witnesses are being treated and the progress of this inquest.

“We are concerned that the late notice to military witnesses may not afford appropriate time to ensure the date of the inquest.

“In my respectful submission, that date is in jeopardy.

“At every stage we have tried to bring the Coroners Service along with what has been done in other inquests and what we believe is fair to the witnesses.”

Fiona Doherty, appearing for the next of kin, urged against delaying the inquest date.

“It isn’t fair, it’s distressing to have families brought to the brink of a hearing and then something happen at the last minute to mean the hearing is pulled,” she said.

“It is unfair in the moral sense of the word in addition to the legal sense of the word.”

Counsel for the coroner said there is a “litany of complaints” from Mr Robinson and suggested a further hearing later in the week to address the concerns.

“If the reality is that this case can’t proceed then we need to address that,” he said.

Mr McGurgan ordered that another preliminary hearing takes place on Thursday.

Stephen Geddis was the youngest person to die in Northern Ireland after being struck by a plastic bullet following an incident on August 30, 1975 in west Belfast.