STATEMENT OF BARRY O’DONNELL KRW LAW ON KINGSMILL INQUEST VERDICT AND FINDINGS
KRW LAW LLP (KRW) acts on behalf of the family of John McConville and Alan Black. John McConville was murdered and Alan Black was seriously injured in the Kingsmills Massacre on 5 January 1976.
KRW endorse the demand for a public inquiry into the Kingsmill Massacre made the family of John McConville and Alan Black.
Secrecy by way of the imposition of Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificates has no place in Legacy- inquests. PII offends the cardinal principle of open justice and the right of parties in an inquest to effectively participate fully in the proceedings. PII is not attached to a document by a Minister of State unless it is considered that disclosure of the document could cause real damage to the undefined public interest/National Security – even after 48 years.
Collusion had no boundaries during the Conflict. The revelations in Kingsmills inquest disturbed an apparently settled narrative that collusion was entirely State-Loyalist centric. It was not. The evolving narrative on Republican–State collusion places additional pressure on the British Government and its agencies over their role in intelligence oversight. That is why the Legacy Act 2023 was introduced to shut it all down. That will be the legacy of of the Kingsmills Massacre.
The verdict and findings of the inquest today represent the next stage on a fraught legal journey.
The next step for to demand a public inquiry into the Kingsmills Massacre 1976. This should be established by way of section 1 of the Inquiries Act 2005 and conducted in accordance with human rights standards of investigation.