Madden & Finucane
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Lawyers call for RUC officer to be disciplined
26 September 2000 --
LAWYERS for a group of Catholic men from Belfast last night vowed to launch a
legal battle if a complaint against an RUC officer does not result in
disciplinary action. The Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC) is
currently investigating the case, which arose out of the officer’s admission in
court that the men’s names were listed as “potential rioters” in a private
notebook. It is understood that if the inquiry is not completed within the next
few weeks, it will be handed over to the commission’s successor, the police
ombudsman, when her office begins work in November. The case was sparked by
rioting in the nationalist Short Strand area of east Belfast two years ago. A
number of RUC men and residents were injured during the incident. Last year
eight of the men from the Catholic enclave appeared in court and were cleared.
In court an RUC officer admitted keeping a private notebook on the defendants –
separate from the official RUC one. Last night the men’s solicitors, Madden and
Finucane, signalled their intention to seek a judicial review if the ICPC does
not rule in their favour. The move comes after the RUC’s police and discipline
department informed solicitors that the director of public prosecutions (DPP)
was not going to take any action against the officer and the matter had now been
passed to the ICPC. Lawyers have already written to the police over the case and
a similar letter to the DPP will be sent within the next few days asking why the
officer was not being prosecuted. A spokesperson for Madden and Finucane said:
“There are a series of questions that must be answered, including what factors
were taken into account before a decision was made not to prosecute. “We will
fight on until until we get those vital answers.” Dominic Corr, who was one of
the men acquitted, called for swift action in the matter. “It’s absolutely clear
cut that this constable broke the law. I think he should have been suspended
from the job,” he said. “In a private capacity he gleaned information from an
RUC notebook. If anyone else had done what he did then they would have been
charged. ”
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