Former Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala O’Loan has said all intelligence relating to the murder of GAA official Sean Brown should have been shared with her.
Ms O’Loan was speaking after a High Court judge ruled that Secretary Hilary Benn must set up a public inquiry into the Co Derry man’s murder.
The father-of-six was attacked and beaten by a LVF gang as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAC in May 1997.
The 61-year-old was later placed in the boot of his own car and taken to a country lane outside Randalstown, Co Antrim, where he was shot six times.
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Mr Brown’s murder was investigated by Ms O’Loan’s office in 2004 and concluded that the RUC investigation was “incomplete and inadequate”.
It has since emerged that vital information linked to the case was not provided to Ms O’Loan.
“It will be vital now that the Inquiry has proper Terms of Reference enabling it to deal with all the issues before the murder, at the time of the murder and thereafter,” she said.
“In 2004 I was only able to conclude on the evidence which was made available to me that the investigation was not efficiently and properly carried out and no earnest effort made to identify those who carried out the murder.”
Ms O’Loan spoke of how material linked to the case went missing.
“The Murder Investigation Policy File, critical to determine how and why the enquiry was conducted was in existence when the Brown family had complained to me but went missing when the investigation started,” she said.
“This seriously impeded my investigation.
“The ‘Occurrence Book’ for Bellaghy RUC Station, which recorded what happened on the night of the murder, was also missing.”
Ms O’Loan added that all the information available on the murder of Mr Brown should have been handed over to her.
“All the intelligence relating to the murder should have been shared with me, but I now know that that did not happen,” she said.
“It is appalling that the Brown family have had to wait so long and fight so hard for this inquiry.”
