Police Ombudsman “identified no intelligence which could have forewarned of, or prevented, the bombing”
The RUC investigation into the La Mon House bombing was 'compromised' after the confessions of a man who says he was assaulted by police were deemed inadmissible by a trial judge.
It states: “One of the retained exhibits, the ends from adhesive tape which was found in the remains of the explosive device, was re-examined for the presence of DNA by the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team in 2010. Although no profile was obtained due to the insufficient quantity of DNA, forensic science has advanced yet further, leading the Police Ombudsman investigation to conclude that further analysis may provide for further DNA opportunities.
The bomb at La Mon House exploded at 9pm on Friday, February 17, 1978, when an estimated 500 people were on the premises. The 12 people who died included three married couples. They were among 40 guests attending an Irish Collie Club dinner being held in the venue’s Peacock Room. Witness accounts suggest that the improvised explosive device was placed outside the Peacock Room between 7.45pm and 8.25pm.
In the absence of admissions, or other corroborative evidence, however, none were charged with the bombing in the initial wave of arrests. Over 40 people were arrested in connection with the bombing between February 1978 and June 1991. He was charged with the 12 murders at La Mon House and with membership of PIRA, as well as 36 other terrorist-related offences. Allegations that he had been verbally and physically abused during his detention in February 1978 were investigated by police and not proven. He made further allegations that following his second arrest, he had been assaulted in custody by a number of police officers.
Paul Holmes said: “The nature of police conduct alleged by the man on trial not only threatened to tarnish the integrity of the La Mon House bombing investigation, but also failed to serve the confidence and interests of the victims and survivors, the wider public and the interests of justice. In 1981, after originally entering a ‘not guilty’ plea, he pleaded guilty to 12 charges of manslaughter, and to other offences, and received 12 life sentences. He is the only person to have been convicted in relation to the La Mon House bombing.
“The first police officers to attend the scene displayed courage and professionalism in seeking to save lives and tend to the injured,” said Mr Holmes. The RUC investigation recovered numerous exhibits - cars that were seized, clothing and samples from suspects, and samples for the purposes of identifying the deceased. Once victims were identified, exhibits recovered for the purposes of their identification became less important to the investigation. However, a significant number of exhibits, which are now unaccounted for, “had the potential to be evidentially important to any future police investigation”.
Regarding, allegations of collusion they centred on concerns that informants may have been involved in the bombing, and, as a result, that the RUC may have had information which may have prevented the attack, and that informants may have been protected by police.
PSNI Crime Castlereagh Co Down
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