Inquest hearing of Patrick Duffy told MOD making 'a nonsense of the whole procedure'

A preliminary hearing in the inquest into the death of a Derry man shot dead by the British Army on November 24 1978 has heard a claim that the Ministry of Defence were making 'a nonsense of the whole procedure'.

The claim was made by Michael Mansfield KC who represents the family of Patrick Duffy from the Brandywell area who was shot dead in Maureen Avenue after the hearing heard that Ministry of Defence disclosure will not be ready until July next year.

After the hearing was told that the disclosure will not be available until July 8 2024 Mr Mansfield said that he would not describe that date as a joke but said if that date was allowed to stand that was 'the end of the matter'.

He described the actions of the MOD as 'a form of sabotage' as the British Government have set a deadline for May 1 for this type of hearing to be complete.

Mr Mansfield said that if the issue was one of resources then more resources should be made available. 

He added that the the issues in this inquest were simple it was about the shooting of an individual by the British Army and it was not an inquiry into the shoot to kill policy.

He said that a more thorough scrutiny of the material should be done to facilitate the disclosure process. 

Mr Michael Egan who represents some of the military witnesses said that there were three of them still alive. 

He said the issues that had arisen in this inquest was the same as in other inquests and added that people who could  deal with the sensitive material were 'thin on the ground'.

Mr Egan said that this was 'a hard stop imposed by parliament' and not the fault of any parties to the hearing.

Mark McEvoy for the Ministry of Defence said the proposed date was 'not a joke' but an indication of the pressure the MOD was under.

The hearing was adjourned until December 14.