An inquiry into the sectarian murder of Robert Hamill has found that police officers in a vehicle near the attack did not condone or collude with the attackers. The report, published on Monday, highlighted multiple wrongful omissions in the subsequent murder investigation, including a failure to properly search a key suspect's home.
Robert Hamill was 25 when he died in 1997 after being beaten by loyalists in Portadown, County Armagh. The inquiry concluded that while the four officers in the police vehicle could not have prevented the murder, the police investigation was flawed both at the scene and in the days that followed.
The inquiry found that serving Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were guilty of wrongful omissions, some of which were negligent and others deliberate. The 290-page report followed an inquiry that cost approximately £33m.