THE Police Ombudsman’s Office last night defended a decision not to allow Sinn
Fein access to Nuala O’Loan’s investigation of a police raid of the party’s
Stormont offices.
The ombudsman initiated an investigation into the raid on October 4 last year ,
which was part of an inquiry into an alleged IRA spy ring operating within
government.
A complaint into the police handling of the Stormont raid was subsequently made
to the ombudsman’s office by South Armagh assembly member Conor Murphy.
In the aftermath of the raid Chief Constable Hugh Orde apologised for the way
his officers handled the raid at Parliament Buildings, describing it as an
“error of judgment”.
However, Mr Orde stressed that the search had been fully justified but could
have been handled more sensitively.
Computer tapes seized at the time from the party’s office at Stormont were
subsequently handed back by police within days. But solicitors acting on behalf
of Mr Murphy have now accused the ombudsman’s office of refusing to divulge any
information to them about the current state of the investigation.
The accusation comes after the ombudsman’s office refused to provide Sinn Fein’s
solicitors with a copy of the search warrant issued for the raid or answers as
to whether or not any police officers had been questioned about their role in
the raid.
“Frankly we are not only surprised but extremely disappointed about the approach
that has been adopted by the Police Ombudsman’s Office,” Madden and Finucane
solicitor Angela Ritchie said.
“How can any complainant have any confidence in the investigations being
conducted by the Police Ombudsman’s Office when they are being denied even the
most basic information concerning their complaint.
“Sinn Fein is entitled to know what the ombudsman has done to investigate their
complaint, particularly as now more than three months have passed since the
incident occured.
“Yet the ombudsman’s office appears to have formed the view that they are not
even obliged to reveal what documents they have received from the police, nor
which police officers they intend to interview. “In short they have refused to
divulge any information about the state of their investigation,” Ms Ritchie
added.
However, a spokesman for the Police Ombudsman’s Office said that under section
63 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act it was barred from providing a claimant
with any information about an ongoing investigation.
“We are legally obliged to operate within the law,” the spokesman said.
“Legally we are only entitled to disclose certain types of information regarding
any investigation.
“We have kept the complainant informed of the progress of the investigation as
we do in all circumstances.
“However, in this particular case the law does not allow us to provide the
complainant with the actual information they have asked for,” he added.