New inquest ordered into 1973 death of Thomas Friel in Derry

A new inquest has been ordered by the North’s Attorney General in the case of a man who died in Derry over 40 years ago.
On 18th May 1973 Thomas Friel, 21, was struck by a rubber bullet in Creggan as he was returning home after a night out. He died four days later
The new inquest was called by Attorney General John Larkin in light of documents uncovered by the Pat Finucane Centre that were withheld from the original inquest.
The documents show that the Ministry of Defence had withheld scientific data showing that the Ministry was aware that rubber bullets were more dangerous than had been admitted publicly.
Another document assesses injuries based on hospital records from Derry and Belfast, while a third describes how rubber batons become potentially lethal weapons in certain circumstances.
The Attorney General has also considered a new pathology report commissioned by the Historical Enquiries Team that contradicts the finding of the original post-mortem carried out by the then deputy State Pathologist.
A spokesperson for the Friel family said after 40 years of lies, the authorities must now accept that Thomas was killed by a rubber bullet.