The Attorney General has ordered a new inquest into the RUC killing of a Catholic man in Co Fermanagh more than 50 years ago.
Michael Leonard (24) was shot after a car chase close to the Fermanagh and Donegal border between Pettigo and Belleek on May 17, 1973.
A decision to order a new inquest came just hours before the British government’s controversial Legacy Act came into force on Wednesday.
The north’s shadow Secretary of State Hilary Benn has said his party will “repeal and replace” the act if Labour win the next Westminster election.
At the time Mr Leonard, who was a disqualified driver, was killed, police claimed he had failed to stop when he got into a car after leaving a shop and that a single shot was later fired during a chase.
New evidence uncovered by research charity Paper Trail later contradicted the single shot claim after British Army logs from the time suggest that a total of three shots were fired at the cattle dealer.
It also emerged that an entry in a military log falsely claimed that Mr Leonard was a member of the IRA.
At a 1973 inquest an RUC inspector claimed that a policeman who held a rifle out of the passenger side of a pursuing Land Rover “accidentally snatched the trigger and discharged a round” after the vehicle “took a violent turn”.
None of the three officers involved appeared at the inquest, which returned a finding of misadventure.
In reaching her decision Attorney General Brenda King has taken into account several matters, including the emergence of British army logs “which are capable of casting doubt on the version of events provided to the inquest by the police”.
Michael Leonard’s brother, John Leonard, welcomed the inquest decision.
“Like so many other bereaved families who have fought for truth and justice for so long, we now face the terrible reality that Britain will not let this inquest go ahead as it wants to protect its killers,” he said.
“Our fight for truth and justice will continue regardless.”
The victim’s cousin, Fr Joseph McVeigh, who has campaigned on his behalf, said: “This is bitter-sweet for Michael’s family as we have been granted a pathway to justice one day but the British state will steal that from us the next.”
Solicitor Adrian O’Kane, of Patrick Fahy and Co Solicitors, said the Leonard family “has conducted a dignified campaign seeking justice for their loved one”.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said. “The Legacy Act must be repealed.”
Ciarán MacAirt, of Paper Trail, said “It is a tribute to the love of Michael’s family and the tireless support of their legal team that the Attorney General ordered a new inquest into the RUC murder of their loved one”.
