A Belfast High Court judge today asked Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward to reconsider his decision not to extend a public inquiry into security force collusion.
Mr Justice Ronald Weatherup said Mr Woodward should think again about whether to broaden the scope of the
Robert Hamill inquiry's terms of reference to include the office of the former Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic, died in hospital after being attacked by a loyalist mob in Portadown, Co Armagh in 1997. Nobody has been convicted of the murder.
In March, Mr Woodward refused the Hamill family’s request to widen the investigation to include the DPP. But 18 months after submitting their request Mr Woodward rejected it after taking detailed legal advice from David Perry, QC. There was, Mr Perry said, no justifiable grounds to extend the terms of reference.
This decision prompted today's court proceedings.
Mr Justice Weatherup said today: "I am satisfied that the test applied by the Secretary of State has not corresponded with the statutory test of public interests and therefore the decision of the Secretary of State, the issue, is referred back to the Secretary of State for reconsideration."
The Robert Hamill Inquiry welcomed the judge's comments and said it " hopes that the Secretary of State will review his decision regarding the terms of reference at the earliest possible opportunity".
The inquiry was established in November 2004 to investigate claims that four Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in a Land Rover nearby allegedly watched what happened and did not intervene.
The independent inquiry was recommended by Canadian ex-judge Peter Cory, tasked to prove alleged security force collusion north and south of the border.