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By Axel Schmidt, Advocacy Manager, Ulster Human Rights Watch (UHRW)

In 1978, eighty-two people were killed in Northern Ireland. Twelve from that awful death toll were murdered at the hands of the Provisional IRA in the La Mon House atrocity. Twenty-three other people were injured, some of them very seriously, like Lily McDowell and James Mills, who not only endured life-changing injuries but also lost his wife and sister in the bombing. His daughter was only two years of age when she was deprived of her mother.

On 11 December 2024, James was joined by relatives of six of those injured or killed in this barbaric terrorist attack. ‘Injured’ fails to convey the extent of the horrific disfigurement, surgical reconstruction and decades of pain that innocent people have had to endure. They attended a briefing at the Police Ombudsman’s office in Belfast to be given details of an investigation into the attack.

The investigation took three years to conclude and followed on from a complaint lodged with the Ombudsman’s office in 2014 by Ulster Human Rights Watch. In a very real sense, it has taken 46 years to get to this point.

Victims and survivors are all too painfully aware of what unfolded at La Mon. Questions remained and they not unreasonably harboured the hope that the Ombudsman’s investigation would shed new light on aspects of the terrorist action. Their persistence and search for truth and justice are to be commended. They have been steadfast and determined.

They wanted to know the identities of the bomb-makers and the PIRA leaders who sanctioned the bombing. Where was the bomb assembled and who transported it? A significant question centred on why the Republic of Ireland failed to provide any meaningful contribution to the Ombudsman’s investigation, and why it allowed itself to become a safe haven for many years after the callous attack.

Sadly, the Ombudsman, for security reasons, was unable to make available all the security intelligence we sought.

One finding of great importance concerned the investigation that was conducted by the RUC. The Ombudsman found no evidence of collusion between the republican terrorists and any section of the RUC. Anything else would have been an appalling outcome. Victims and relatives expressed their satisfaction with this outcome.

However, they were disappointed with aspects of the investigation, for example the loss of records and exhibits. Plainly, this was unsatisfactory and there has been no adequate explanation forthcoming as to how and when this happened.

Policing in 1978 was totally different to the way it is done today. The force was under unimaginable pressure, trying to contain and counter vile terrorist organisations who brought mayhem to communities and our towns and cities.

The Ombudsman’s finding of no collusion or ‘collusive behaviour’ and his opinion that the RUC conducted the investigation with ‘earnest endeavour’ lays to rest once all supposition and suspicion and for all.

Yes, there were some failures during the investigation. It’s important to acknowledge these deficiencies and how they impacted on Court proceedings and the prosecution of suspects. That said, they do not take away from the fact that the PIRA terrorists were the murderers of innocent people and several key people are still at large.

The Ombudsman’s office has done all it can and now we must take our campaign to the next level. The search for answers and some measure of justice will go on.

Our next step will be to lodge a request with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to ascertain who were the people responsible for the bombing – planners, bomb-makers and PIRA leadership – and the role the Republic of Ireland played in allowing terrorists to make the bomb and find protection from arrest and prosecution while residing on its territory.

Finally, I would like to thank all those victims and relatives for their remarkable courage and determination. They are the backbone of this campaign and deserve full acknowledgement.

UHRW Advocacy Manager, Axel Schmidt, said: “The Secretary of State, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, said that he had made his decision to agree to a public inquiry in the Pat Finucane case because of the unique circumstances of this case and the solemn commitment made by the Government in 2001 and 2004 to establish a public inquiry.

“He said that he had considered whether to refer the Pat Finucane case to the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) and confirmed that the Commission is Convention compliant and has powers comparable to those provided by the Inquiries Act to compel witnesses and to secure the disclosure of relevant documents by state bodies.

“It should therefore now be expected that all inquiries carried out by the ICRIR be as thorough as in a public inquiry and provide the information families have sought for many years on an equal footing as to what is being done for the Finucane family by way of a public inquiry.

“The Secretary of State also indicated that when making his decision, he had considered the likely costs and impact on public finances, and that unnecessary costs would be avoided given all the previous reviews and investigations and the large amount of information and material that is already in the public domain. In the most recent High Court proceedings the Judge stated that this inquiry could ‘build on the significant investigative foundations which are already in place’.

“Considering all the costs already incurred by the multiple investigations carried out in the Finucane case, families who refer their cases to the ICRIR should now expect the same level of funding to ensure that their cases are investigated to the same level of thoroughness as has been done in the Finucane case.

“Equality between victims and survivors of the Troubles, particularly for victims of terrorism, requires nothing less than the same treatment from the ICRIR as that given to the Finucane family by way of a public inquiry.”

Victim of terrorism support organisation, Ulster Human Rights Watch, has written to Hilary Benn, Labour MP, Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe and Christos Giakoumoloulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law at the Council of Europe, urging them to continue supporting the newly established Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

UHRW said it held the view that since the Dillon v. Secretary of State judgement rendered by the High Court in Belfast on 28 February this year, the immunity provisions in the Act were declared incompatible with the Convention. The Court also confirmed that the ICRIR has the power to deal with historical investigations in a Convention-compliant way. Therefore it has the potential to deliver positive outcomes for innocent victims of terrorism in a more effective way than under the Stormont House Agreement proposals.

The Lurgan-based human rights body said it had engaged with the Chief Commissioner for the ICRIR, former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, and made a number of recommendations for its Operational Design with a view to positively contributing to the operation of the agency, which is in the process of being considered and addressed.

This is a welcome and positive step, since UHRW’s responsibility is to make representations so as to advise and guide on what is required to address the needs of victims of terrorism with a view to delivering for them as far as possible truth, justice and acknowledgement.

UHRW Advocacy Manager, Axel Schmidt, said: “We’ve written to Mr Benn and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, and Council of Europe Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, Christos Giakoumoloulos, to make them aware of our position.

“After careful consideration, we’ve arrived at the view that the ICRIR, following the High Court judgement, has the means to be fully Convention-compliant, which is also an improvement on the situation concerning inquests. This is why we have justified reasons to support it for the benefit of the victims we represent.”

In the letter to Mr Benn, Mr O’Flaherty and Mr Giakoumoloulos, UHRW said: “It must be recognised that the ICRIR does provide a means of addressing the legacy of the past that is European Convention-compliant.

“We would therefore urge you to support the continuity of the ICRIR while resisting the revival of the Stormont House Agreement proposals, which would favour the justification of terrorism, fail to meet the needs of Victims of Terrorism and prevent Northern Ireland society from moving towards peace and reconciliation.”

Mr Schmidt said they’d asked for a meeting with the former Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to set out the position in greater detail.