Sean Brown: Family accuse government of 'attack on the truth'

Sean Brown was abducted and murdered in 1997

The family of Sean Brown has accused the government of trying to tie them up in lengthy legal processes in a bid to avoid a public inquiry into his murder.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) official was murdered in 1997.

In March, a coroner halted an inquest into Mr Brown's death and wrote to the government to request a public inquiry.

But instead, the government said it is taking legal action over the inquest. Mr Brown's family has described the move as "an attack on the truth".

They also claimed that the government's legal challenge was "an attack on the independence of the judiciary".

A statement issued by their solicitor said: "The Brown family are gravely concerned this is a concerted attempt to tie them up in legal processes that could take years.

"They are being used as pawns in a wider attempt by the British government to defend its indefensible approach to legacy.

"Far from abiding by the express direction of the High Court and convene a public inquiry, they have decided to attack our local judiciary and are ignoring the request."

The statement added that the family would take their own legal action over the government's failure to establish an inquiry.

What happened to Sean Brown?

Mr Brown, 61, was abducted in Bellaghy, County Londonderry, and shot near Randalstown in County Antrim in 1997.

He was locking the gates of GAA club Bellaghy Wolfe Tones when he was taken by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF).

In March, Coroner Mr Justice Patrick Kinney said Mr Brown's inquest could not continue due to material being withheld on the grounds of national security.

The coroner decided that redactions of intelligence material meant he could not properly investigate the circumstances of the killing.

Instead, he wrote to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris requesting a public inquiry into the case.

Why is the government taking legal action?

The government did not provide specifics on what is behind its challenge.

However, it is believed to cover details aired at the inquest about state agents and whether it involved a breach of the neither confirm nor deny (NCND) policy.

The long-standing policy, adopted by successive governments, covers the protection of agents' identities.

Before the inquest ended, it heard that agents were among more than 25 people linked by intelligence to the shooting.

In a statement on Thursday, the UK government said: "We can confirm that an application for leave to apply for judicial review has been made relating to the inquest into the death of Sean Brown.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage given the matter is now the subject of judicial consideration."

Sean Brown's body was found in a burnt-out car near Randalstown

The move effectively delays a decision on whether or not to grant a public inquiry into Mr Brown's murder - an announcement on the issue had been anticipated by the end of this week.

Bid to 'deny victims access to justice'

The Brown family's statement said the government's legal proceedings were "clear in their intention" as an "extension of the intentions of the cynical and morally bankrupt Legacy Act".

"The state is terrified that their carefully curated official history of the conflict is now being perfected by judicially-endorsed legal facts, hence their attempts to deny victims of access to the courts and access to justice."

The controversial Troubles Legacy Act, which came into effect in September 2023, will bring an end to future civil litigation and inquests into deaths which took place during more than 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland.

It also introduced a cut-off date of 1 May 2024 to halt running inquests which have not reached the stage of findings by that date.

All of Northern Ireland's political parties and many victims' groups opposed the Troubles Legacy Act.

Last November, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told Sean Brown's inquest that it would not object to a public inquiry being held into his murder.

The GAA also backed calls for one, as did Leo Varadkar before he stood down as taoiseach (Irish prime minister).