Court directs Attorney General to make Kelly inquest decision

THE High Court has directed that the Attorney General must rule this week on whether to grant a fresh inquest into the murder of Trillick councillor, Patsy Kelly, nearly 50 years ago.

It follows a Preliminary Judicial Review seeking to overturn the decision of the Attorney General’s recent denial on the granting of a fresh inquest.

The Kelly family have said that they are satisfied with the court’s direction. They say that, having waited 49 years for justice, the Attorney General can this week, follow the line taken by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and rule that an open inquiry be made into the killing of Patsy Kelly.

The decision by Mr Justice Scoffield was taken in anticipation of the Attorney General’s re-determination of her earlier decision to refuse the inquest.

Barrister for Theresa Kelly, Desmond Fahy KC, said there was an urgency for Mrs Kelly and her family due to the Legacy Bill currently progressing through the Houses of Parliament, and the uncertainties surrounding this.

Describing the case as ‘significant’, Mr Fahy, said that if the Bill became law, then the Attorney General would not then have the power to call a fresh inquest.

He also stressed that there are currently no amendments to the Legacy Bill which would allow an inquest to take place, and that their challenge would become ‘mute’ on the day that the Bill became law.

Mr Fahy said that much of the material required for an inquest into the murder was already available, and that the requirements in relation to the discovery and disclosure of information is ‘not as onerous’ in this case as it might be in relation to other inquests.

The hearing was told that the original denial of a fresh inquest was made last month, but that the Attorney General had since intimated that there would be a re-determination decision released on June 30, which is this Friday.

Mr Fahy said that the Attorney General had since arbitrarily pushed this decision back by a week to July 7.

“We see no reason why that re-determination cannot take place on June 30. The Attorney General possesses the material and there is nothing new,” Mr Fahy said.

There are currently between 12-14 inquests in the system, which are being listed for management or hearing.

But Mr Fahy stressed that they faced a ‘guillotine’ moment when the Legacy Bill becomes law.

Mr Justice Scoffield said he could see no reason why the decision of the Attorney General in relation to her re-determination on whether to call a fresh inquest into the murder of Patsy Kelly should not be made known to the family on Friday and then a fuller written account provided by Monday, July 3.