High court rules no compelling new evidence of collusion in murders linked to Johnny Adair

No compelling new evidence of collusion has emerged in a double sectarian murder linked to former loyalist terror chief Johnny Adair, a High Court judge ruled on Wednesday.

Mr Justice Humphreys held that the legal test for establishing any failure to properly investigate the killing of two Catholic council workers in west Belfast 30 years ago was not met.

He dismissed claims by one victim’s son that both the PSNI and the Police Ombudsman have breached Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

James Cameron, 54, and Mark Rodgers, 28, were shot dead at their Kennedy Way work depot in October 1993. 

Several others were wounded in an attack carried out by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) just three days after nine people died in the IRA’s notorious Shankill Road bombing. 

Amid suspected security force collusion with the loyalist gunmen, Colm Cameron challenged the independence of a PSNI Legacy Investigation Branch probe into his father’s murder.

Judicial review proceedings were also taken against the Police Ombudsman for alleged delays in dealing with a complaint about the case lodged back in 2008.  

The court heard the council workers were killed at a time when there was known to be a heightened risk against Catholic members of the community.

A book on the activities of Adair and the UFF C Company he commanded at that time referred to his alleged intention to plan a mass murder.

It was claimed that the Kennedy Way depot was an obvious target because of its Catholic workforce.

But counsel for Mr Cameron said a vehicle checkpoint was stood down an hour before the gunmen arrived without any proper explanation.

He argued that there had apparently been no surveillance operation against Adair or attempt to disrupt his paramilitary unit when retaliation for the Shankill bomb was likely. 

In 1995 Adair, nicknamed “Mad Dog”, was convicted of directing terrorism and sentenced to 16 years in prison, only to be released early as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

An internal power struggle eventually led to him being ousted and expelled from the paramilitary organisation in 2002. 

However, Mr Justice Humphreys was told there were suggestions he received “assistance from security forces” during his time in charge of C Company.

Further concerns were raised that the gun used to kill the council workers was part of an arsenal of rifles allegedly smuggled into Northern Ireland from Lebanon by British agent Brian Nelson.

In 2012 the now defunct Historical Enquiries Team (HET) carried out a review into the killings, but no report was provided to Mr Cameron’s family before the investigation branch disbanded.  

Responding to the legal challenge, police set out how two people were charged, convicted and jailed in connection to the attack - including a man who admitted both murders and UFF membership.

A senior PSNI detective stated that during the original investigation 60 suspects were interviewed, 16 arrests made and fingerprints checked against 78 people believed to be associated with the UFF. 

He confirmed a telephone warning which referred to “Catholic depots” was issued to Belfast City Council on the day before the attack. 

Subsequent intelligence naming UFF members involved resulted in a series of arrests.

Central to the challenge was an alleged failure to carry out a probe which complied with Article 2 duties which only came into force in October 2000. 

Under the so-called ‘Brecknell’ legal test, fresh plausible or credible information about perpetrators was required to establish any retrospective investigative obligations over murders carried out seven years prior to that date.

Mr Justice Humphreys held that the state of knowledge on potential collusion was not enough.

“The fact that preventative measures (in the form of surveillance on C Company) may have been removed in March 1993 cannot be said to have any evidential impact on the investigation into these killings,” he said.

“It does not have any relevance to the identification or prosecution of the perpetrators.”

The use of a gun imported into Northern Ireland by loyalist paramilitaries was also known at the time of the murders, according to the judge.

“The alleged involvement of Brian Nelson is without any evidential support. This is not ‘new’ material which came into being after the critical date,” he said.

Dismissing both of Mr Cameron’s challenges on similar grounds, Mr Justice Humphreys ruled: “There is no weighty or compelling new evidence in this case which would satisfy the Brecknell test and cause the Article 2 investigative obligation to be revived.”

A solicitor representing Mr Cameron said the case highlighted the importance of having access to the courts to challenge the State on its role in Northern Ireland’s conflict.

Kevin Winters added: “Importantly, the families of victims and survivors were able to put their allegations in a public forum.”

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