Northern Ireland’s Attorney General has ordered a fresh inquest into the death of Donegal man Michael Leonard.
The 24 year old was shot dead in 1973 by the RUC near the Donegal-Fermanagh border.
The Attorney General’s decision was announced yesterday, a day before Britain’s Legacy Act comes into force.
According to Paper Trail, the North’s Attorney General, Brenda King, ordered the new inquest having taken a number of factors into account.
They include the fact that the original inquest did not receive oral evidence from any of the police officers involved in the incident, and that new evidence has been unearthed in the form of army logs which potentially cast doubt on the version of events provided to the inquest by the RUC.
The AG also cited the original inquest’s verdict of misadventure, the decision by the director of Public Prosecutions not to exercise certain powers, and the fact that there are ongoing investigations by the Legacy Investigation Branch of the PSNI and the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland which have not been concluded.
The AG’s decision was made last evening, just before the new Legacy Act which would prevent such fresh inquests comes into effect today.
