Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde defended today his force's re-investigation of the high-profile sectarian killing of 61-year-old Catholic man Sean Brown in the wake of a damning report on the original investigation.
The family of Sean Brown have said they have no confidence in a new inquiry carried out by Northern Ireland police, and are considering a legal challenge in pursuit of their demand for an outside force to be called in.
Earlier this week Mr Orde announced that a special team of detectives would re-examine the case after Police Ombudsman Ms Nuala O'Loan branded the 1997 probe a "failed investigation" and found "no earnest effort was made" to identify the killers.
"It could have been done a lot better, we have fully accepted the recommendations of the ombudsman," Mr Orde told BBC radio today.
But the police chief said because Ms O'Loan had found no evidence to substantiate allegations the Protestant gunmen who shot Brown had been helped by the security forces, it was right for his own force to conduct the new investigation.
"There is a clear statement from the ombudsman that there was no evidence at all of collusion in that case," he said.
"Had there been evidence of collusion I would have given consideration, without a doubt, to an external inquiry."
Allegations of British army and police collusion with loyalist paramililtary groups during Northern Ireland's 30-year conflict have dogged the security forces in recent years and prompted calls for inquiries in several cases.
Sinn Fein was quick to criticise Mr Orde's stance today, saying the majority of Catholics had no faith in the police force.
Brown was abducted by a Loyalist Volunteer Force gang as he locked up a Gaelic sports club in the mainly Catholic village of Bellaghy in County Derry. He was shot six times and his body dumped beside his burning car 10 miles away.
PA