Danny Kennedy: Only a full, independent public inquiry will achieve truth and justice for Kingsmill families

As someone actively involved with Alan and the families over many years with the campaign for truth and justice, I too attended.

The hearing lasted well over four hours, and it was a difficult listen to hear the coroner recount in graphic detail the awful events of January 5, 1976, and their dreadful aftermath.

Much of what Mr Sherrard said was factual. To his credit, he apportioned blame properly to those responsible for the massacre of the 10 innocent workmen by stating “the attack was carried out by the IRA operating under the authority of the Army Council”, also concluding, “it was mounted because the deceased men were Protestants and for no other reason”.

The coroner heavily criticised the failure of republicans and their political representatives in not co-operating with the inquest. Welcome words indeed.

Unfortunately, the coroner fell short in his findings on some other important matters. He failed to “name and shame” at least three known individuals, now themselves deceased, who carried out the killings, despite these IRA men having been previously named by various media outlets, including the BBC.

Coroners in other inquests have shown no such reluctance to make known the identity of those responsible for their crimes.

Secondly, the coroner refused to disclose information provided to him in closed hearings contained in secret files by the security services.

These files were subject to Public Interest Immunity (PII) certificates, signed off by a Minister of State from HMG. So much for openness and transparency. So much for so-called British Justice!

Finally, the coroner in my view failed to properly nail successive governments and authorities in the Irish Republic for their failure to co-operate with the inquest and provide answers to Alan and the families.

The role played by the Irish authorities throughout The Troubles, in allowing their jurisdiction to be used to mount murderous attacks on the security forces and citizens of Northern Ireland and provide a safe haven to those who carried them out is nothing short of an international scandal.

Yet, the current Irish government has the audacity to bring the UK government to the European Court of Human Rights on legacy issues. It absolutely stinks.

It is for the reasons outlined above that Alan, the Kingsmill families and I have called on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to announce a full, independent public inquiry into the Kingsmill massacre.

We would like to have the support of our public representatives, individuals and organisations such as the Orange Institution to back this demand.

Kingsmill was a deeply evil event, and we know it was carried out by the IRA and sanctioned by its Army Council, but still “the blood of the innocent cries from the grave” and we need to establish maximum truth and justice for Alan Black and the families of 10 entirely innocent Protestant workmen.

We can now only achieve this with a full, independent public inquiry. Please support us.

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Danny Kennedy is a former UUP Assembly member for Newry & Armagh