Legal challenge to “Good Neighbours” ruling is dismissed

A legal challenge by retired RUC officers against a report citing police failures over the ‘Good Neighbours’ bombing in Derry has been dismissed.
In July of last year, the Police Ombudsman found that officers failed in their duty in relation to an IRA 1988 booby-trap bomb which killed Eugene Dalton, Sheila Lewis and Gerard Curran at a house in Creggan.
Following a complaint by Mr Dalton’s family, the Police Ombudsman found that officers had information about an IRA booby-trap bomb in a house in the Creggan estate, but did nothing to warn residents of the possible danger.
Foyle MLA Colm Eastwood said this evening the fact that a High Court judge has dismissed the challenge by officers to have the findings quashed is further vindication of what the relatives have been saying all along.
While the findings should in no way detract from the ultimate culpability of the IRA for this horrendous atrocity, Mr Eastwood said it is clear that the police failed utterly in their duty to protect Eugene Dalton, Sheila Lewis and Gerard Curran.”
He criticised the Northern Ireland Retired Police Officer’s Association for showing “utter disregard” for the relatives of the deceased in the manner in which they mounted the legal challenge.
The NIRPOA document itself which was littered with errors. It got some of the names of victims wrong, it got the date of the bombing wrong and it got the location wrong.
Mr Eastwood added that the full truth of police actions in the lead up to the explosion and the subsequent investigation must be made available to the families of those killed.
The loved ones of those are entitled to be given the full truth as to what happened, he said, and it is vital that all retired officers co-operate fully to ensure the truth is revealed.