“The case has become symbolic of the British state’s refusal to abide by promises made as part of the Northern Ireland peace process to allow full disclosure of its activities during the Troubles and afterwards.”
By Geoff Bell, Labour Movement for Irish Unity
The daughters of the victim of one of the most notorious cases of collusion between British state forces and loyalist paramilitaries will be telling their story to an English audience for the first time.
The public meeting, organised by Labour Movement for Irish Unity, will be a Labour conference fringe event in Liverpool on 30 September. The main speakers are Clare Loughran and Siobhan Brown, daughters of Sean Brown.
In 1997 Sean, an official of an Irish sports club in County Derry was kidnapped and killed by a gang of “loyalists”. It appears he was targeted because the club was part of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), which plays a leading role in the cultural life of the Irish nationalist community and hosts Irish native games.
During an inquest last year more than 25 people were linked to the murder, including members of the Northern Ireland Police Service and British state agents. The inquest was abandoned by the coroner because evidence from the British state was so heavily redacted or withheld to make the proceedings useless.
Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, was asked by both the inquest coroner and Sean’s family to hold a public inquiry into the murder. He refused. He said it should be referred to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), set up by the Tory Government under legislation Kier Starmer had promised to amend.
But Benn has said the ICRIR would stay.
In early April, the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal ruled that the British government’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into Sean’s murder was “unlawful.” The Appeal Court also found that the government was in breach of two obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights – ones that protect the right to life.
The Court also said the ICRIR “is not fit for purpose” in the Brown case.
The court gave Benn four weeks to “reflect” upon its judgment. But the government and Secretary of State Hilary Benn opted to appeal the entire verdict, postponing yet again the search for truth.
The Brown family has been waiting 28 years for some kind of explanation, judgement, or admission about what happened to Sean. It is hardly surprising that after the latest delaying tactic the family issued a statement saying that Benn was “trying to make fools” of them.
The case has become symbolic of the British state’s refusal to abide by promises made as part of the Northern Ireland peace process to allow full disclosure of its activities during the Troubles and afterwards. This should and must include its now well documented collaboration with loyalist murder gangs.
Instead, the latest indications are that the new legacy proposals being drawn up by the government are being motivated as part of a contest between Starmer and the Tories as to who is most protective of security forces veterans. There is certainly little likelihood that there will any change from British security and intelligence service witnesses in court cases saying they will “neither confirm nor deny,” when they are quizzed in Northern Ireland courts on their involvement in specific criminality including murder.
To help press their case for full disclosure and say what victims like them think the new legislation should be, the Brown family is coming to the Labour Party conference. to ask party members to support their demands for justice.
LMIU chair, Paul O’Brien said, ‘This is one of the most scandalous and important human rights issues facing the current British government. Its refusal to come clean and cooperate with supplying all the details of the British state’s involvement in Sean’s kidnapping and murder and agree to an independent and public inquiry into these events is reminiscent of British colonialism in Ireland at its worst. Sadly, this is not an isolated case. We in LMIU are proud to host this event.’
- You can join the Labour Movement for Irish Unity Fringe taking place during Labour Party Conference at 6.30PM 30 September, Friends Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool 1 3BT
- Geoff Bell is an executive member of the Labour Movement for Irish Unity and the author of The Twilight of Unionism, and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook.
- You can follow the Labour Movement for Irish Unity on Facebook and Twitter/X.
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