Against an increasing number of calls for an independent investigation into the murder of Ms Rosemary Nelson, the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, has pledged that his force will do everything "humanly possible" to trace the killers.
He rejected a call from Ms Nelson's husband Paul and several political parties and human rights organisations for the inquiry to be withdrawn from the RUC. "I am open to anything which brings about the best prospects for a successful conclusion to this investigation and if I thought for a moment that anyone in a completely independent way could conduct a successful investigation, I would be entirely open to it," said Sir Ronnie yesterday.
But he still believed the RUC under the supervision of Kent Chief Constable Mr David Phillips, assisted by the FBI, was the best means of finding those who planned and planted the car bomb which killed Lurgan solicitor Ms Nelson on Monday week.
He said he had had several conversations with Mr Nelson. "I think the transparency of this investigation will hopefully restore Mr Nelson's confidence in the investigative process," he said. Mr Flanagan said he hoped "within 24 hours" to publish a report from London Metropolitan Police Commander Niall Mulvihill about his views on the conduct of RUC officers involved, either as investigating officers or accused officers, in the inquiry into allegations of the police issuing death threats against Ms Nelson. Cdr Mulvihill took over the inquiry from the RUC because the Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC), which supervised the RUC, was so unhappy with the manner in which it was conducted by the police.
Earlier this week the ICPC report was disclosed in The Irish Times. The report dealt with a "catalogue" of criticism about the RUC inquiry including lack of professional conduct and an ill-disguised police hostility to the inquiry and to Ms Nelson.
Asked if he was planning to publish some details from the Mulvihill report because he believed this would weaken the criticism of the RUC contained in the ICPC report Sir Ronnie replied, "Absolutely not."
The Mulvihill report was not published yesterday, and an RUC spokesman said it appeared unlikely it would be published today. The spokesman said that extracts from the report, which might be released, must first be vetted by lawyers. Yesterday calls came from Amnesty, the British-Irish Rights Watch and the Committee on the Administration of Justice, the Cearta group, Sinn Fein, Republican Sinn Fein, and the Irish Republican Socialist Party for the murder inquiry to be handed over to an independent body.
