Relatives of Mr Seán Brown will mount a legal challenge to block a new PSNI investigation into his murder.
Their decision was made known following the publication of findings by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman yesterday into the loyalist killing of the prominent GAA man in Bellaghy, Co Derry. The 61-year-old was abducted from the Wolfe Tone GAA club in May 1997 and shot six times. His body was left alongside his burning car.
Ms Nuala O'Loan, as expected, found "significant failures" in the investigation mounted by the then RUC. She accused officers of making "no earnest effort" to find the killers. Her report says that although the police did not receive full co-operation from the local community, their investigation was "incomplete and inadequate".
The report says there is no evidence to prove collusion between RUC officers and loyalist paramilitaries.
Ms O'Loan's conclusions were pre-empted by the Chief Constable, Mr Hugh Orde, who has ordered a fresh PSNI investigation. He accepted the main findings and apologised for the inadequacies of the original case which had been closed pending new evidence in July 1998.
Mr Brown's widow, Bridie, lodged complaints via her solicitors about the police handling of the case in January 2001.
The Brown family, speaking yesterday through their solicitor, confirmed they would try to halt any new investigation mounted by the PSNI. They called instead for a new inquiry mounted by an outside police force.
Ms O'Loan's report illustrates a bungled investigation which was not unique at the time, according to sources within the ombudsman's office. One well-placed source gave the Brown investigation "two out of 10" and suggested there were other "unexploded mines" waiting to go off in other cases.
Ms O'Loan said her investigators had uncovered forensic failures, the mishandling of witnesses, a lack of sharing of intelligence gathered by Special Branch, and poor evidence-gathering concerning the use of cars by the murderers. Her team also reported that two key files relating to the murder were now missing.
One high-level source, when asked how such files could disappear, replied: "Draw your own conclusions." Ms O'Loan said the missing files were of the utmost importance and the failure to gain access to one of them "seriously impeded" her investigators.
"It has also effectively prevented the allocation of responsibility for individual decisions made by senior officers," her report states.
The ombudsman also partially upheld a complaint from Mr Brown's family that the police had failed to update them on the course of their inquiries. She found that relatives were not properly informed of developments in the murder case, but also noted that the Browns had asked police officers not to call at their home and had declined other contact with the RUC.
The senior investigating officer, who was also involved in the Omagh bombing investigation which was also severely criticised by the ombudsman, is not suspected of any crime, Ms O'Loan said. He retired in July 2000 and cannot be made amenable for any shortcomings in the Brown murder investigation.
His deputy, now promoted, is understood to have told investigators that his conduct in the Brown case was consistent with his orders.
Ms O'Loan made three recommendations. She called for a fresh inquiry into the murder including a review of all evidence to date. She also called for further investigations of two other killings involving the same or similar weapons. The family involved in one of these cases is understood to be preparing a statement which could be released tomorrow or Thursday.