Coroner sees no reason not to start inquest into UVF murders in January

A coroner has told police and the military he can see no reason why an inquest into the loyalist murders of four people in Co Tyrone cannot proceed in January.

Judge Richard Greene QC is the presiding coroner in a planned inquest examining two separate UVF gun attacks in Moy in 1992.

John McKearney, 70, and his nephew Kevin McKearney, 32, were shot by a gunman as they worked in a butcher shop in the village in January of that year.

Nine months later, married couple Charlie and Tess Fox, aged 63 and 53 respectively, were gunned down in the kitchen of their home in Moy.

The shootings were carried out by the UVF’s mid Ulster gang.

Separately to the coronial proceedings, relatives of the four victims, along with families bereaved in other shootings carried out by the gang, are pursing a High Court civil action over alleged state failings in the handling of the cases.

At a preliminary inquest hearing in Belfast on Wednesday, Judge Greene indicated his intent to hear evidence on a modular basis, with issues dealt with in separate blocks.

He told legal representatives that he wanted to commence the first module, which would hear evidence about the victims and the circumstances of their deaths, on January 23 next year.

Judge Greene said he did not anticipate that the initial module would require an extensive discovery/disclosure exercise on evidence papers by the state agencies.

The court heard that disclosure on files related to the McKearney case has already been well advanced, as it was previously initiated by another coroner several years ago, but that disclosure on the Fox files has not yet commenced.

Lawyer Andrew McGuinness, representing the PSNI and MoD, told the court that in order to determine what material was relevant to the first module it might be necessary to examine all the material related to the two incidents.

“The one issue I foresee is that whenever you’re undertaking a discovery exercise it’s difficult to limit it,” he said.

“You need to do the whole discovery exercise before you then can identify the discrete parcel that might fit into the module.”

The coroner challenged the suggestion that the preparatory work for the first module would require a lengthy process.

“I can see no impediment, at this stage certainly, that I’ve been made aware of that would make it impossible, or indeed unlikely, that the Fox papers could not be in a state of equal readiness as the McKearney papers are for a start on January 23,” he said.

Judge Greene told Mr McGuinness: “You have reserved your position but that is the date you’re getting today and that is the date that is being set for this inquest to commence and you’re going to have to work to that.

“If, in fact it, for one reason or another, your instructions are that you will simply not be in a position to deal with that, well, then you’re going to have to tell me within a period of two weeks what your position is.”

The preliminary proceedings are taking place amid a UK Government attempt to pass controversial legislation that would put a stop to further legacy inquests in Northern Ireland.

Hugh Southey QC, representing the Fox family, said they were keen to get the inquest started as soon as possible.

“From the family’s point of view, particularly in the current climate, starting the inquest is a priority even if that doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be some some delays once the inquests starts,” he said.

“So, from the family’s point of view, there is an obvious very significant benefit of the modular approach.”

The next preliminary hearing was listed for October 7.