THE decision by the British government to appeal a High Court order for a public inquiry to be held into the brutal murder of Bellaghy GAA official Sean Brown in 1997 is another sickening blow to a family who have spent over quarter of a century overcoming hurdle after hurdle in their battle for truth and justice.
Mr Brown’s widow, Bridie, will turn 88 this year and the New Year gift to her and countless others like her from this Labour administration is a ringing declaration that it is business as usual for the British government, whose overwhelming priority remains the hiding of state crime and skullduggery, no matter what colour of tie the tenant of No.10 is wearing.
Being angry at Secretary of State Hilary Benn in the wake of the appeal announcement is an exercise in utter futility. Had the Prime Minister and the sinister selection of spooks and mandarins directing him ordered Mr Benn to pour tens of millions of pounds into the hunt for killer British agents he would have done it. No British politician has ever been sent here because of the depth of their political acumen or the steadfastness of their commitment to do the right thing though the heavens fall. Mr Benn, like the sorry cavalcade of has-beens, never-weres and no-marks that preceded him, is here to do exactly what he’s told. And what he’s been told is what his late father could have told him before he threw his lot in with Keir Starmer: Irish people mean little or nothing when it comes to the imperative of hiding the truth about Britain’s role in Ireland.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to know what to make of the announcement by Lady Chief Justice Siobhán Keegan that she has ordered the British government appeal to be expedited and the case will be heard as early as next week. It may be that her intervention is a sign of exasperation, but regardless of what her decision betokens, the appeal must be heard and decided on its merits, and if it is then this latest act of British bad faith will be one of the shorter hold-ups that the Brown family have had to contend with.
Because the history of the case speaks for itself. The RUC/PSNI has apologised for the pathetic charade that passed for an investigation and paid compensation to the family. A court recently heard that up to this point 25 people have been implicated in the abduction and murder of Mr Brown – among them state agents. The number of armed agents of the state involved in the murder is not known – and of course that is exactly how the British government want it to remain.The Brown case has stunk to high heaven from the word go. In March last year a coroner said he could not continue with his investigation into the circumstances of Mr Brown’s murder due to the sheer extent of material being held back by the state. It was the coroner writing to the then Secretary of State to point this grim truth out that set off the chain of events leading to the order for a public inquiry.
The facts are stark – and incontrovertible.
