Attorney General orders fresh inquest into the British Army killing of Kathleen Thompson in 1971
PFC | 06 September 2013
The Attorney General John Larkin has ordered a fresh inquest into the British Army killing of Kathleen Thompson, a mother of six, in the back garden of her Creggan home in November 1971. The Thompson family have welcomed the news.
Speaking today Erne Thompson,son of the deceased described the development as,
"welcome news at last after many years of lies and cover-up. This is official recognition at some level that a woman, a mother, cannot simply be shot dead in the garden of her own home and there are no consequences, no investigation, only a cover-up. Soldier D will be compelled to attend. This is our opportunity to set the record straight."
Fearghal Shiels of Madden & Finucane, Solicitors, who represent the Thompson family said:
"This new Inquest will be very different to that which occurred in 1972. Soldier D, the soldier responsible for shooting Kathleen Thompson did not attend to give evidence as he was not obliged to. He is now however a compellable witness and will be required to attend for cross examination by the Thompson family lawyers. This will be first public rigorous exploration of the circumstances in which Kathleen died, in stark contrast to the charade presided over by the Royal Military Police, to whom the Chief Constable of the RUC had unlawfully delegated responsibility for the investigation."
Paul O’Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre which has supported the family over the years said,
"four soldiers of the Royal Greenjacket Regiment were ‘interviewed’ by the RMP in the hours after Kathleen Thomson was shot dead. These so-called ‘interviews’ lasted a total of two hours with the soldiers, including the soldier who fired the fatal shots, being interviewed on average for 15 minutes. That was the extent of the investigation.
In November 2001 the then Chief Constable in a letter to the PFC stated that he,
‘takes the view that there was an actual and acceptable investigation into the death of Kathleen Thompson." The Attorney General clearly does not agree with the PSNI. The contempt with which the family have been treated over the years is exemplified by the compensation payment made years after the death. A cheque for £84.07p (eighty four pounds and 7 pence) was sent to Kathleen’s husband Patrick."