THE go ahead for the remains of the hanged IRA member Tom Williams to be reburied in the Republican Plot at Belfast's Milltown Cemetery has been given by his closest surviving relative, a doctor living in Canada.
The announcement by Dr Philip Williams, from Ajax, Ontario, is expected to bring to a conclusion the long running campaign waged by the National Graves Association (NGA).
Dr Williams is a half brother of Tom Williams, who was hanged in 1942 when he was 18 for murdering an RUC member in Belfast. He was buried in an unmarked grave inside Crumlin Road jail, where his remains were located recently.
The Northern Ireland Office refused repeated requests by the NGA for the remains to be exhumed. But, following a Belfast High Court action last year, the NIO gave the go ahead.
However, a cousin living in the Republic objected to Williams being reburied in the Republican Plot.
Now Dr Williams has sworn an affidavit stating that as Tom Williams's closest living relative he "fully supports the claims by the NGA for the remains."
The NGA's solicitor, Mr Joe Rice, said: "We can see no further obstacle to the wishes of the NGA being carried out."