PA MediaThe daughter of a GAA official killed by loyalists has labelled the UK government as “disgraceful” for how it informed her family about its decision to challenge a court ruling over a public inquiry.
Siobhan Brown, whose father Sean Brown was abducted outside a GAA club and shot dead in 1997, said the government had treated the family with disrespect.
The Court of Appeal in Belfast had given Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn four weeks to reconsider a decision not to hold an inquiry into Mr Brown’s murder at the hands of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).
On Wednesday, Benn confirmed he was now seeking leave to appeal the judgement to the Supreme Court, the UK’s highest court.
‘Distraught’
Ms Brown told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster Programme that the timing of Benn’s announcement and the lack of information given to them beforehand had upset the family.
“We were distraught at the fact that this information had been released without the family knowing in entirety,” she said.
“To suddenly hear it being broadcast, it’s disgraceful.”
Ms Brown added that “by the time I got home, I hadn’t even reached my mothers house before the press were looking for quotes and statements.
“Meanwhile Hilary Benn had given a press conference in London,” she said.
Ms Brown accused the government of treating her family with disrespect and of trying to undermine them.
She referred to her 87-year-old mother Bridie’s appeal to Benn last month not to make her go to London to campaign for an inquiry.
“My mother made an impassioned plea to Hilary Benn, not to take her to London, that’s fallen on deaf ears, that’s the route we now have to go,” Siobhan Brown added.
Speaking at Westminster on Wednesday, Benn said he remained determined to have a “full, thorough and independent investigation” into Mr Brown’s murder.
“The murder of Sean Brown in 1997 was despicable, and his death caused great suffering and pain to his family, his wife Bridie and the community,” he said.
“I know that the length of time it has taken to provide them with the answers they have been searching for has added to that pain.”
Benn said while the government wanted an investigation that complied with its human rights obligations, the Court of Appeal’s judgment required a “detailed and comprehensive response”.
What have Northern Ireland politicians said?
Posting on X on Wednesday, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that the government’s decision was “cruel and inhumane”.
“The Brown family has only ever sought truth and justice for their beloved husband and father.
“Throughout their decades-long campaign, they have consistently shown immense courage and dignity.
“The British government must urgently respect the court’s decision and establish a public inquiry now,” she added.
What happened to Sean Brown?
Mr Brown was locking the gates of GAA club Bellaghy Wolfe Tones when he was kidnapped by the LVF.
Early last year, a court heard more than 25 people, including state agents, had been linked by intelligence material to Mr Brown’s murder.
In March 2024, a coroner said Mr Brown’s inquest could not continue due to material being withheld on the grounds of national security.
He decided that redactions of intelligence material meant he could not properly investigate the circumstances of the killing.
Instead, he wrote to the then Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, requesting a public inquiry into the case.
In December, the High Court ruled that current Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn must set up a public inquiry into the murder.
The government then appealed against that ruling, mounting a legal challenge to the Court of Appeal.
However, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said it was “a shocking state of affairs” that more than 25 years had passed but there had been no “lawful inquiry into the circumstances” of Mr Brown’s death.
After that ruling, Mr Brown’s family said Benn should “do the right thing”.
Mr Brown’s widow spoke directly to the NI secretary, saying: “Five judges have told you what to do, do the right thing and please don’t have me going to London.”
