press freedom


spoke out. They engaged Belfast solicitor Niall Murphy and it transpired that the getaway car – the most important piece of evidence – had been destroyed. A report by the police ombudsman in 2011 admitted evidence had been destroyed, but performed what Murphy described as ‘factual gymnastics’ to avoid using the word ‘collusion’. Dr Michael Maguire took over as ombudsman in 2012, and


took a more robust approach. His 2013 report showed that the senior investigating officer in the Loughinisland case had gone on a month’s holidays after visiting the crime scene and promising a thorough investigation. Maguire describes how, within 24 hours, detectives already knew the identity of the killer – but did not arrest him until two months later. Maguire also found that the papers from the case had been destroyed “because of an asbestos problem” at the police station where they were held. The senior investigating officer in the Loughinisland case refused to cooperate with Maguire and could not be forced to, as he had retired from the PSNI. Collusion between the police and the killers was clearly


identified by Maguire and his investigative team, although the killers were not. However, a 2008 document from the ombudsman’s office, leaked to McCaffrey, proved to be key to Maguire’s report.


McCaffrey also obtained an anonymous letter from someone admitting to involvement in the Loughinisland murder plot. It named the killers. The gunman was Ronnie Hawthorn. His assistant was Alan Taylor and their driver was Gorman McMullan. Barry later found that the letter was written by Hawthorn’s wife, Hilary. The detail in her letter confirmed material in the leaked 2008 report. The documentary also shows how the British state decided to


fight the IRA using the UVF. The weapon used at Loughinisland was from a major arms shipment to the sectarian gang, overseen and protected by the British secret services. These weapons were later used for indiscriminate slaughter. No Stone Unturned concludes by posing a dilemma


Left to right: Barry McCaffrey, Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader and Trevor Birney


between peace and justice, wondering if the two are mutually exclusive. “Year after year, the past is set aside to make room for the future,” says Gibney, the narrator. What has happened to McCaffery and Birney since the documentary aired suggests this is an understatement. Twenty years after the Good Friday Agreement, government officials are not just drawing a veil over uncongenial facts – they are actively attempting to criminalise two journalists. “There isn’t a day of our lives that isn’t taken up by feeling


we have to be constantly aware that we’re the focus of a criminal investigation,” says Birney. This is no exaggeration. He and McCaffery are fighting the police investigation in the courts. But, should the Belfast judges side with the journalists, the prosecution has threatened to resort to public interest immunity certificates, treating McCaffrey and Birney as if they were terrorists. The prosecution has even hinted it may resort to the secret courts procedure, whereby defendants’ legal teams are excluded and they are legally blindfolded. This is clearly a battle journalism cannot afford to lose.


Hold a film screening and help


ORGANISE A showing of No Stone Unturned. It’s easy. It can be rented from iTunes for £1 or bought from You Tube for €7.99. Show it on a laptop to friends or organise a larger event. Make sure to email campaigns@NUJ.org.uk if you are doing so. Check NUJ Active for showings of No Stone Unturned in your area. Get your MP to sign Early Day Motion 2091 on Loughinisland and the importance of


journalism in the public interest. You can find it in the Early Day Motions section of the House of Commons website at https://tinyurl.com/y38hxa38. It’s in the name of Conor McGinn MP. Sign the Amnesty Petition in support of Trevor and Barry. You can find it in


the Campaigns section of the NUJ website at www.nuj.org.uk/campaigns/ no-stone-unturned


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