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Former RUC officers trial collapses Ombudsman refer former worker to PSNI after trial collapse
(about 3 hours later)
The trial of two former RUC detectives collapsed on Friday after the prosecution offered no evidence against them. An investigation is under way after the collapse of the trial of two former Royal Ulster Constabulary officers.
John McGahan, 71, and 64-year-old Philip Noel Thomson had been due to stand trial next year accused of perverting the course of justice. The new investigation relates to the Police Ombudsman inquiry into the two former RUC officers.
The charges related to an RUC investigation into the IRA murder of Royal Welsh Fusiliers officer Lt Steven Kirby who was shot dead in February 1979 at Abercorn Road in Londonderry. John McGahan, 71, and Philip Noel Thomson, 64, were accused of perverting the course of justice during the investigation of an IRA murder in 1979.
The Public Prosecution Service said it had decided not to prosecute after receiving new information from the Police Ombudsman's office. Prosecutors decided not to go ahead with the trial after receiving new information from the Police Ombudsman.
The Police Ombudsman's Office said that it had passed the matter to the police.
"Given the concerns raised with us by the Public Prosecution Service, we have referred the matter to the PSNI to consider if it warrants a criminal investigation,'' a spokesperson said.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) issued a statement, confirming the reasons for the collapse of the trial.
"We can confirm that we have recently been furnished with certain material by the Office of the Police Ombudsman which was not made available to PPS when the decision to prosecute was taken.
"This material undermined the prosecution case to the extent that we have concluded that there is no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.
"The director has met with the Police Ombudsman and has expressed his concern in relation to the late disclosure of this material.
"The matter is now the subject of investigation."
The former RUC officers faced charges related to an investigation into the IRA murder of Lt Steven Kirby of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers who was shot in February 1979 in Londonderry.
In the late 1970s the RUC charged four teenagers, who became known as The Derry Four with the murder of Lt Kirby.
Gerry McGowan, Michael Toner, Stephen Crumlish and Gerard Kelly were acquitted of the murder charges and other offences in 1998.
Their treatment by the RUC was investigated by the Police Ombudsman and in 2012 the matter was referred to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
A jury will be sworn in on 12 January 2015 to formally deliver a not guilty verdict on the charges faced by the former police officers.
Gerald Kieran McGowan, who took the case against the two men, expressed his disappointment with the outcome.
"I am disappointed in the timing and manner in which the PPS have come to this decision," he said.
"My lawyers have today sought access to all documents, including the newly disclosed materials, relied upon by the PPS in making this decision and I will be taking advice on this when I have seen the documents."