RUC chief denies official's claims he criticised Hamills

FORMER RUC chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan has denied a claim by a civil servant that he suggested Robert Hamill could have died from oxygen starvation due to the manner in which his head was cradled by a member of his family.

Sir Ronnie, who was giving evidence to the Robert Hamill Inquiry yesterday, described as inaccurate and “disgraceful” an official memorandum of a conversation he had with a civil servant in which he allegedly was “defensive and critical”.

Sir Ronnie, who was questioned by the Hamill family lawyer Barra McGrory QC, said he absolutely “refuted” a suggestion that he had claimed that Robert Hamill’s sister Diane was pursuing an agenda to “discredit” the RUC.

Under tribunal procedure it now seems likely that the civil servant who made the claims against Sir Ronnie will be shortly called to give evidence to substantiate his allegations or to accept that the former chief constable is correct in his denials.

The inquiry is investigating the circumstances in which Robert Hamill was set upon by a loyalist mob on April 27th, 1997, in the centre of Portadown, Co Armagh, dying 11 days later from his injuries.

The inquiry is investigating several allegations including one that RUC officers who were close to the scene failed in their duty to intervene, that one officer Robert Atkinson colluded with a suspect, advising him to burn his clothes, that suspects were not detained on the night, and that the crime scene was not properly maintained.

Mr McGrory referred to an official memorandum of the civil servant’s discussion with Sir Ronnie in July 2000. “I generally found the chief constable in a pretty defensive and critical mood,” the official wrote. “In particular, he [Sir Ronnie] commented that Hamill’s death could have been caused by his own family cradling his head in a way that led to oxygen starvation,” he added.

The official also said that Sir Ronnie remarked that it was “noteworthy” that it was Robert Hamill’s sister Diane who was “making the running” on the case rather than his partner Caroline.

Sir Ronnie said this record was “disgraceful” and he “completely” refuted them. “To suggest that Robert’s death was due to anything other than the beating he received at the hands of his assailants is absolutely disgraceful.”

He also emphatically rejected a claim that he believed Ms Hamill was pursuing an agenda. “I think she has an agenda to find out exactly what happened to her brother,” he said.

Much of the evidence was taken up with Sir Ronnie explaining how and why Reserve Const Atkinson was not immediately suspended from the force after he was accused by a witness of conspiring with one of the murder suspects. Mr Atkinson faced conspiracy charges but his case never went to trial.

Mr McGrory said there was an “appalling lack of supervision” over Mr Atkinson. “The disinterest of the senior ranks within the RUC in the investigation into Reserve Const Atkinson led directly or indirectly to the failure to detect him,” he said. “I completely and utterly refute that,” Sir Ronnie replied.