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76-year-old Roseanne Mallon was shot dead by the UVF in collusion with elements of the RUC and British army on 8th May 1994 in Dungannon, County Tyrone. Ms Mallon was shot dead while British security forces were staking out the home where she was killed. Six British soldiers were in hiding nearby and they reported the gunfire. Soldier V, who was in command of the six soldiers, told the RUC: "On 8.5.94 at 23.50 hours we heard a burst of automatic gunfire in the area which was reported to the Ops room. We were informed not to react to the situation and that the RUC would be informed." The actual officer (Soldier U) who gave the order not to intervene says on receiving the report of gunfire: "I immediately contacted the police who told me the shooting was at (number given) Cullenrammer Road." This means that he was immediately made aware that the shooting was at the Mallon home that his soldiers were staking out. Detectives investigating the murder were not told the soldiers were in place until two months after the murder. The six soldiers at the scene, as well as their contacts in the Ops room at Killymeal Barracks, Dungannon, were not interviewed until more than three months after the killing. On July 9th, two months after the murder, a local farmer working in a field near the Mallon home came across a hidden camera in a hedge. Neither the RUC nor the British army, who ran the camera, have ever formally commented on the reason for the covert operation in which other cameras were also in use. The cameras were in use for thirteen days before the murder and military logs show the cameras were recording on the afternoon of the shooting. Subsequent RUC 'investigations' have revealed that as much as fourteen hours of tapes from the day of the murder, along with logbooks, were 'missing'.
Ever since the death of her parents in the early eighties, Roseanne Mallon stayed at her sister-in-law’s house at night, fearing she could be easy prey for burglars at her own home. But just before midnight on May 8 1994, the 76-year-old spinster fell victim to a different type of terror. The Catholic pensioner was robbed of her life by a UVF murder gang in the very home she felt most safe. “Roseanne lived on her own but stayed with my mother at night,” says nephew Martin Mallon. “There had been a lot of burglaries in the area and that is why Roseanne stayed with us, she was terrified.” The shooting occurred just yards from an undercover British army unit which – unknown to the Mallons at the time – had been monitoring their every move. But the soldiers in hiding that night were ordered not to respond after hearing gunfire at the Mallons’ home on Cullenrammer Road, Dungannon. Indeed, a long-running legal battle with the Ministry of Defence and police in a bid to get the full disclosure of all documents for the inquest into the pensioner’s death, has already resulted in the release of disturbing information, and more is expected. According to military radio logs released to the family’s solicitors, but which were heavily censored, camera surveillance equipment was closed down due to poor light but soldiers were still in situ and monitoring events. At 11.54pm the log recorded: “There was a burst of auto fire from the south of their location approx 500m. No casualties. It was not aimed at their location.” A statement by a soldier, only identified as Soldier V who was in charge of the team conducting the covert operation, read: “On 8.5.94 at 23.50 hours we heard a burst of automatic gunfire in the area, which was reported to the Ops room. “We were informed not to react to the situation and that the RUC would be informed.” It was a decision which baffles the Mallon family. “Why? Two women had been shot. How did they (the soldiers) manage to record that no-one had been injured,” says Martin. “You would imagine that the very first reaction would be to go straight in and lend medical aid. “But somebody at a higher level said no. “Until we got those statements (from soldiers), as far as a lot of politicians besides Sinn Féin were concerned, the allegations (of collusion) were portrayed as republican propaganda. “We weren’t getting a proper hearing. “But once we produced the documentation from the British soldiers stating what happened, the whole thing changed.” The UVF gang, led by notorious Loyalist Billy Wright (murdered in prison in 1999), had fled the scene 20 minutes before the RUC arrived. Wright, and another two known loyalists were arrested at an RUC checkpoint on the Portadown Road an hour after the shooting. Forensic tests carried out on clothing and swabs taken from the suspects proved negative and they were later released without charge. Although 20 minutes is a relatively short period, for Roseanne’s experienced paramilitary assassins, it was enough time to torch the car, clean and dump the weapon and anything that could connect them to Cullenrammer Road. “Wright had been arrested for a number of murders over the years, but you could never crack him,” said a senior security source. “He never gave anything away. His demeanour was always relaxed yet confident throughout interview. “He was mannerly, not aggressive and never lost the head. He knew the drill inside and out, he was well briefed to say nothing, just like the rest of his crew.” As with other well documented cases, murder squad detectives were hampered by Special Branch. They were unaware of the secret surveillance operation sanctioned at the highest level within the RUC and directed against Mrs Mallon’s two Republican nephews, Christopher and Martin, who had been jailed for Provisional offences. Christopher Mallon lived at the house while his brother lived with his family nearby. The brutal killing of the pensioner sparked immediate claims of security force collusion, which continue to gather momentum. The murder occurred in the Mid-Ulster area, where allegations persist that large numbers of UVF and LVF paramilitaries were operating as security force agents. Roseanne’s political beliefs were completely opposite to those of her Republican nephews. “She wouldn’t have seen things the way we saw it,” says Martin. “Even my father, believe it or not, was actually a member of the Alliance party and stood for them at one time in the elections. “Roseanne would have seen things in more that light and wouldn’t have agreed with violence or anything like that. “As long as Roseanne had her family and something to eat, she wanted no trouble and my mother was the same. “That would have been her attitude. As long as there was peace and quiet and no trouble.” A passion for photography and her renowned baking skills made Roseanne a well known and well liked neighbour. The murder of the deeply religious woman was a terrible shock to all who knew her. “The only people she had were us, she never married,” says Martin, “In fact, she helped rear us. Roseanne was my Godmother as well and her life revolved around the family. “She was always about the house and farm. She would have baked some wedding cakes or made curtains, she was very neighbourly. “Roseanne was a real lady. At her funeral the priest remarked that there were as many Protestant neighbours as there were Catholics. “If I or Christie (his brother) was shot, people probably would have said ‘well, they were Republicans, they had been in jail’. But with Roseanne it was different. “She would have got on very well with all her Protestant neighbours and they would have visited her house and she would call on them. “That is why there was such an uproar through the whole community over my aunt’s murder.” The dark green car – believed to have been used by the UVF gang – was spotted in suspicious circumstances near the house the day before. Despite the property being under 24-hour security surveillance, the gunmen struck with relative ease. Roseanne’s niece Paula heard the horror unfolding over the phone when she telephoned to catch up with the events of the day and seeing the house from her own window, warned her mother and Roseanne to be careful. “Roseanne was sitting on the sofa beside the window with the blinds down. My mother told Roseanne to go into the hall as Paula said there were a couple of men at the house,” says Martin. “My aunt had arthritis, and was a wee bit slow on getting up. The next thing the hail of bullets came flying through the window. Roseanne fell on the floor and the blinds shot up. “They (the gunmen) could see my mother and she ran down the hall and they fired at her. Paula was still on the phone while this was going on. She heard the shooting, everything. “My mother had dropped the phone, she didn’t put it back on the receiver. My sister called the police.” Martin Mallon was returning home after a night out when he saw his nephew running towards his mother’s house. “We went into the house. Roseanne was lying there (on the sofa). She was dead. My mother had been injured. “When I saw Roseanne, I was obviously angry but I also felt helpless.” One the eve of the murder, two boys were playing in a nearby old barn and stumbled upon activity, the nature of which has been disputed, but the Mallon family maintain the pair had disturbed an uncover military unit. And suspicions were raised even further when surveillance equipment – which transmitted pictures to Dungannon and Portadown RUC/British army barracks – was discovered eight weeks later overlooking the farmhouse. It had been in place at the time of the murder. “As I was taking the cameras out three helicopters came in like a formation, two of them low and one of them high. I got on the tractor and hid them in another place,” says Martin. “By the time I got back the whole place was saturated, unmarked cars, men with trench coats.” Mr Mallon firmly believes, at the very least, his aunt’s death could have been prevented. “If you let a banger off on that road or fired a shot, the road would have been sealed off within 20 minutes. “There were SAS men watching this house, still these Loyalists manage to drive in from Portadown or Dungannon,” he says. “They didn’t go to the front (of the house), but walked right round the back, to the room where the two women were, fired through the window, ran to the car, drove seven miles and dumped it. “With 24 hours the cops found the gun located in the shooting, hidden under a sheet of tin, five miles away in an old farmyard. “No-one would have dreamt of going there unless they were sent there. It wasn’t near where the car was found burnt out, it was in a completely separate direction. “From day one I never for one second believed this was an isolated murder. When I saw Roseanne I knew Special Branch, MI5 were in some way connected. “Special Branch had been harassing us (Martin and Christopher), trying to put the pressure on.” And the purpose of the soldiers in the dug-out, during a period when the security forces had been accused of operating a shoot-to-kill policy? “Their role was probably to shoot IRA people seen with guns,” says Martin. “I’m saying that because if it was only an observation operation they (Special Branch, MI5) would be happy enough to let the camera relay pictures back to Portadown just to monitor it. “But they had two teams of people within 150 yards of the house as a quick-reaction team. I believe that was the role of military intelligence in those dug-outs.” After nine years of campaigning to uncover the truth, Mr Mallon believes they are getting there, but is only too aware that in the murky world of the intelligence services, barriers are commonplace and notoriously hard to penetrate. “You become case hardened to a certain extent. “You keep fighting and you keep pushing because you see the injustice and wrong in it,” he says. “My mother and my sisters couldn’t do it because physically and emotionally every time your picture appears in the paper, every time there is a paragraph written, my mother is in pieces. “We know who did the shooting, we know who drove the car, we know where they got washed after, we know all about it, as do the police. “Roseanne’s case is a strong one because of the amount of paper evidence. “There are other cases in Tyrone where there was collusion, but the paper trail is not there. “The fact that we are still trying to have an inquest into Roseanne’s death says it all.”
Call for special Coroner's unit The government was urged today to create a special unit of the Coroner's Service to investigate controversial killings in Northern Ireland. He said the present coroners` system was simply not designed to cope with the killings involving allegations of security force collusion. "It may well be that these cases will be seen as unusual but I doubt that. There are always situations where a fully independent investigation is the only way forward to satisfy the public disquiet. "It is not satisfactory from the families' point of view and the point of view of the administration of justice but we have inherited the system that is there." The inquests involve the killings of:
Speaking at the 16th preliminary hearing of the inquests, Mr McLernon contrasted the slow moving process with the Hutton Inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly. "There would have been dedicated staff there to investigate that matter and it must have been very, very helpful to have a relatively limited inquiry." He added that the background to the killings were similar the cases investigated at the behest of the Government by the Canadian judge Peter Corey. These include the loyalist killings of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane and Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson, and the killing of Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright by the Irish National Liberation Army inside the Maze Prison. In these cases there have been allegations of security force collusion. "We have these cases which involve security and intelligence issues which are complex and very sensitive. It may well be that these matters could be looked at together," Mr McLernon said. "I can't distinguish between the Corey cases and these cases," he added. Solicitor Peter Madden, representing the McKearney family, accused the Government of implementing a deliberate strategy to prolong the process. He pointed out that there had been two years of wrangling into disclosure of unedited security force documents. And he claimed the Government would be happy if the inquests were never completed. "It seems to me that the policy at work here seems to be delay, delay, delay," he said. The families are now considering applying for a judicial review to challenge the present coroner"s court system. Mr McLernon, who has inspected thousands of pages of unedited security force material to assess their relevance to the cases, told the hearing he expected to finish this process in around four weeks` time. He adjourned the hearing until April 29 when he hoped to be able to make a ruling on the relevance of all of the documents. Outside the court Martin Mallon, the nephew of murdered pensioner Roseanne Mallon, said it was clear that the system was not in place to deal with these cases. Mr Mallon claimed the coroner's statements showed he supported the families' calls for a public inquiry into the killings. "He (Mr McLernon) said that if these cases were in England, then like the case of Dr David Kelly, there would have been a public inquiry into the deaths. "We have at all times called for an independent public inquiry. It is unacceptable that the police investigate the police especially with allegations of collusion." Roisin Ui Mhuiri, sister of Kevin Barry O`Donnell who was shot dead in an SAS ambush at Clonoe, Co Tyrone in 1992, said a judicial review to challenge the present system may be the only way forward. "We are back here time and time again. Recently there has been a death in one of the families. Although the coroner tries his best, the system can`t cope."
15 years
after murder family still cannot have inquest held
The family of a Co Tyrone pensioner murdered by the UVF in 1994 have hit out after it emerged that the PSNI is still failing to hand over information about her death 15 years later. Roseanne Mallon (76) was shot dead by UVF gunmen as she visited a relative’s home outside Dungannon in May 1994. It later emerged that an undercover British army unit had been watching the house at the time of the murder but was ordered not to intervene. Since then the Mallon family have fought a 15- year battle to find out the truth surrounding the pensioner’s murder, with 23 failed attempts to hold an inquest into the death. In 2002 coroner Roger McLernon threatened to take legal action against the PSNI and Ministry of Defence over their refusal to hand over documents relating to the murder. In an unusual move, one of Northern Ireland’s most senior judges, Mr Justice Reginald Weir, was appointed to take over the handling of the case. However, the Mallon family have spoken out after it emerged that Mr Weir cannot hold an inquest as the PSNI has still not handed over documents relating to the killing. Ms Mallon’s nephew Martin expressed dismay at the PSNI’s continued refusal to deliver documents to the courts. “We have been fighting for 15 years for an inquest into Roseanne’s murder,” he said. “My aunt was not a republican or political in any way. She would have most likely voted for the SDLP. “We have been to court nearly two dozen times to try and get an inquest into Roseanne’s murder and every time the PSNI and MoD refuses to allow either a coroner or a judge to see documents which would show what really went on that night. “We hoped we would get somewhere when Mr Weir took over as we didn’t think they would refuse access to such a senior judge. “But now he has written to us saying they have still not allowed him to see the documents.” Mr Mallon also expressed frustration at what he felt was the ineffectiveness of the policing board. “I recently spoke to one nationalist policing board member who told me there was nothing he could do for us because the board is a toothless tiger. “If it is a toothless tiger then what is Sinn Fein and the SDLP doing on it?” A PSNI spokeswoman denied that it was stalling efforts to hold an inquest into Ms Mallon’s killing. “Police are finalising the preparation of materials in relation to the inquest,” she said. “These will be delivered on Friday July 10, by agreement with the Coroner’s Court.” Mallon family’s long fight for truth and answers - Roseanne Mallon shot dead by UVF in 1994 - Undercover British army unit witnesses murder but does not intervene - Coroner threatens MoD and PSNI with legal action for refusing to submit documents - High Court judge Mr Justice Weir appointed to handle inquest - Documents not handed over to Mr Justice Weir - Police say documents will be delivered to coroner’s court by July 10 - Mallon family have tried – and failed – 23 times to have Ms Mallon’s inquest held
Incident
recalls murder of Roseanne Mallon Belfast Based human rights organisation Relatives for Justice (RFJ) have hit out at the PSNI over the harassment of one of its directors Martin Mallon. Mallon was stopped near the Ballygalwley roundabout, County Tyrone by the PSNI on Thursday 20 August. His car was searched and his mobile phone, personal diary, and paperwork relating to his business were seized. Mallon’s 65 year-old passenger, Kevin Sherry, who suffers from a heart condition was also targeted by the PSNI as they tried to take his mobile phone. Despite Mallon remonstrating with the PSNI and explaining that Kevin Sherry needed his phone in order to contact his doctor or the hospital should his condition deteriorate the PSNI insisted on taking the sick man’s phone. Before the PSNI took Sherry’s phone the men were able to make contact with Joint First Minister Martin McGuinness who immediately contacted the PSNI. It has since emerged that Kevin Sherry was admitted to Craigavon Hospital as a direct result of the stress he suffered during the incident. Relatives for Justice has been supporting the Mallon family throughout a number of landmark legal battles concerning a loyalist attack on the family home on 8 May 1994 which injured Mrs. Mallon and killed Martin Mallon’s 76 year-old aunt Rosanne Mallon. In the lead up to the attack Mallon was subjected to a campaign of harassment and threats by members of the RUC. RUC Special Branch members, who are known to the family and RFJ, issued death threats three weeks before the attack in which they threatened to have Mallon’s wife killed. On this particular occasion Mallon was accosted on an isolated road and held for almost one hour by two armed members of Special Branch. During this detention two leading loyalists arrived, chatted with the armed Special Branch men, and then drove alongside Mallon’s parked car and threatened him and his wife. One of the loyalists was Billy Wright. At the time RFJ documented the incident with Amnesty International and a lawyer. Subsequent to the attack on the Mallon home and the killing of Roseanne a local farmer uncovered a covert unit of the British army secreted into a dug-out in a field overlooking the Mallon home. A number of surveillance cameras were also found. Through a series of legal actions in which the family sued the British MoD the Mallons won discovery of statements from a number of covert soldiers who stated that they had been there prior to and during the attack. In their statement they say that they transmitted live televised images via their cameras to a room at Mahon Barracks, Portadown, which was recorded. They also say in their statements that prior to the attack they were ordered to ‘switch off’ their cameras and that on later observing the attack and reporting it were ordered ‘not to react’. An inquest into Roseanne Mallon’s killing has yet to be held. However a reshuffle of the Coroner’s Service saw the case being referred to a High Court judge, Justice Weir, who recently requested that the PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde provide him with material in police possession concerning the killing and the overall covert operation that witnessed the murder of Roseanne. Hugh Orde has refused to assist the Coroner and has indicated his willingness to use gagging orders in the form of ‘Public Interest Immunity’. RFJ maintains that the PSNI are carrying on the harassment that the RUC directed at the Mallon family to deter them from pursuing truth and justice about Roseanne’s killing: “This form of political policing has no place within our society and must be condemned by everyone. This harassment is driven by the will of those in authority who fear the true extent of what occurred on 8 May 1994, and more importantly exactly who incited, organised and directed those who killed Roseanne Mallon, Their will is to seek to silence Mr. Mallon. These attempts will fail”.
Inquest
into pensioner killing due to open after 16-year wait An inquest into the death of Roseanne Mallon will finally get under way next year — some 16 years after the pensioner was brutally gunned down in her Co Tyrone home. The hearing, which could last up to four weeks, is expected to open after the Easter break, a preliminary hearing in Belfast was told yesterday. News of the significant step for Miss Mallon’s family came yesterday as Northern Ireland’s most senior Coroner John Leckey gave the Chief Constable seven weeks to hand over top secret reports on an alleged police shoot-to-kill policy during the Troubles, in a separate preliminary inquest hearing. Mr Leckey issued the deadline in the face of ongoing police reluctance to disclose the never published Stalker and Sampson reports to assist his probe into the RUC killings of six men in late 1982. Miss Mallon (76), from Cullenrammer Road near Dungannon, was shot dead by UVF gunmen while watching TV in May 1994. The circumstances of her murder have also been highly controversial and to date the case has been the subject of 24 preliminary hearings. Yesterday’s 20-minute hearing was told the PSNI had handed over bundles of documents in July, but there was doubt over whether all the evidence was at the court’s disposal. Justice Reg Weir gave the respective legal teams six weeks to liaise with each other to establish whether they were satisfied that all necessary exhibits were available. He asked whether the family wanted the case to be investigated by the Historical Enquiries Team before an inquest opened, however this was declined by the family’s legal representative, Fiona Doherty. But speaking after the hearing, Miss Mallon’s nephew, Martin, said he was disappointed at the prospect of a further six-month delay. “We were hoping to come here and be told that an inquest would start within two weeks,” he said. “Now we’re told that Easter 2010 is the likely date. “It’s very frustrating. Roseanne was murdered in 1994 and all the documentation was supposed to be handed over after every preliminary hearing. “We’re still here now, in 2009, with the judge trying to get the PSNI and MoD to clarify what they have and make sure that it is all handed over.” Soldiers camped near the scene — who were guarding a secret Army surveillance camera, belived to be monitoring republicans, overlooking the scene of the murder — were ordered “not to react” as the killers escaped. Mr Mallon wants the PSNI to supply film from the camera, but police have argued that the camera was off at the time of the killing, because it couldn't record at night. It emerged that senior police decided not to tell detectives investigating the murder about the camera or the soldiers who witnessed the killing.
Judge
to probe why soldiers failed to act as OAP was shot A judge has said he expects to hear “a good deal” about the activities of soldiers on a surveillance operation near the scene of a pensioner’s murder 15 years ago. Roseanne Mallon (76) was shot dead by UVF gunmen as she watched television at a remote country house near Dungannon in May 1994. A preliminary hearing into the long-running case yesterday was told that an inquest will commence in Belfast on May 17 next year. The inquest, which could last four weeks, will explore why surveillance soldiers who reported gunfire were ordered “not to react” as the killers escaped. Yesterday’s hearing was told that the process of considering applications for screening witnesses and possible anonymity could take up to five months. However Mr Justice Weir, who will preside over the inquest, said that applications from military personnel would have to be fully justified. “If we have a situation where an old lady was shot, we are going to have to find out a good deal about what they were doing there,” he said. Justice Weir said he would take “a close look” at any proposed redactions, adding that he intended to take “a pretty pragmatic approach”. “We don’t want people looking for anonymity or screening if all they did that day was lie in a ditch. I do hope we won’t have a rash of needless appeals because that just brings the whole process into disrepute,” he added. Coroner counsel Sean Doran requested that applications be submitted by December 7, with the process likely to take 18 weeks. Miss Mallon’s nephew Martin backed Justice Weir’s call for full details on what soldiers were doing at the time of the murder. “The attitude and approach that he has taken to it is the first positive thing we have seen in a long, long time,” Mr Mallon said. “All we’re asking for is an inquest, we’ve been asking for that from day one. He wants it taken to a conclusion, so do we. We have asked what call they had for any redactions since the very start.” Mark Thompson, a director of Relatives for Justice, accompanied Mr Mallon to the hearing and welcomed the development. “This was a 76-year-old pensioner, a civilian woman, who was killed. There is no need for all this nonsense, the truth just needs to be told,” he said.
Judge’s
anger at MoD stalling over Roseanne Mallon inquest A judge investigating the 1994 UVF murder of a Dungannon pensioner has criticised the Ministry of Defence for delaying proceedings ahead of the inquest. “It is wholly unacceptable that the MoD are treating this in a cavalier fashion,” Mr Justice Reg Weir said yesterday. At a preliminary hearing into the murder of Roseanne Mallon (76), Justice Weir warned: “Suspicions have not in any way been allayed by the actions of the MoD. We are getting close to the date fixed for inquest. Their actions have been very inconsiderate. “It is not for the MoD to dictate how this inquest proceeds. It is not for the MoD to determine the timetables for these matters.” The May 17 inquest will look into the murder of Roseanne Mallon and security force collusion with loyalists. At yesterday’s hearing, issues surrounding the disclosure of PSNI and MoD evidence and the anonymity of witnesses were discussed. Justice Weir took umbrage at the length of time taken to redact, or black out, material relating to the spinster’s murder. “It is inexplicable why they haven’t got the small balance of evidence redacted. There has been a failure to meet successive given dates. A few straight answers would be appreciated,” he warned. An MoD representative apologised to Justice Weir for the delay and indicated senior officials would be meeting with Security Minister Paul Goggins next Tuesday to discuss the matter. A barrister representing Ms Mallon’s family objected: “The MoD and PSNI have ignored the deadline set by this court. All the indications are that they are working to their own timetables.” It was also heard that PSNI witnesses would not be requesting anonymity but an MoD witness who planned a relevant surveillance operation would require anonymous screening. The inquest is expected to begin May 17.
Coroner
questions MoD and PSNI on Gagging Orders Yesterday evening the family of Roseanne Mallon sat at the 35th preliminary inquest hearing into the death of their 76yr old aunt in May 1994. This attack, observed by undercover British soldiers, and carried out by a UVF death squad also injured their mother Bridget Mallon. High Court Judge Reg Weir, the Coroner in the Mallon case, expressed his dissatisfaction and frustration at the PSNI and Ministry of defence for their continued tactics of delay and avoidance. He told the counsel for the MoD and PSNI that their refusal to meet deadlines for providing relevant materials to the inquest is “unsatisfactory and inconsiderate”. He told the representatives for the MoD that it is not for the MoD to decide how this matter proceeds and that the MoD were clearly moving at their own time in their own way and despite this - it is not for them to determine the timetable. This statement came as a further application for delay in provision of relevant materials to the coroner was made. This follows three earlier extensions of time already having been granted since December 2009. Counsel for the MoD and PSNI stated that the PSNI will be seeing the Minister Paul Goggins next Tuesday and requesting that he conduct a “balancing exercise” on the materials which may be provided to the coroner’s court and applications for Public Interest Immunity. The Ministry of Defence were less certain as to when the British Minister for defence Bob Ainsworth would be available to conduct a “balancing exercise” into military materials and determine on what and whom Public Interest Immunity would be requested. They have requested that they received an extension for this until 1st April. Judge Weir expressed his deep
frustration particularly at the Ministry of Defence on this matter.
He stated that timetabling cannot be left in the hands of interested
parties. He told the solicitor for the MoD Mr Murray that the letters
emanating from him were a model of obfuscation on every point. Despite allowing an extension
until the 1st April Mr Weir stated that the application was wholly
unjustified and despite him not being happy about it he was only allowing
it on faith of the assurances that all obligations would be met by
1st April – and he will see if this deadline is complied with.
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