Family of Peter Gallagher welcome 'long-awaited report'

The family of Peter Gallagher have welcomed the 'long-awaited' report into the murder of their father, grandfather and brother.

Peter's grandson Caolán McAleese, from Bellaghy, said: “After several delays and the imposition of the disastrous Tory Legacy Act, we now have some answers regarding his murder and the original RUC investigation. We were shocked to learn that 12 persons of interest identified by the RUC at the time were not arrested.

"Even though the RUC knew who the gunman was in our case and the murder of Damien Walsh the next day. The RUC simply did not care. They dismissed the killing as another random sectarian murder whilst failing to link the two murders.

“The report has left us with more questions than answers. The RUC failed to arrest the gunman despite intelligence confirming it was him the day after the murder. Several witnesses seen him in the area the days before the murder, and close to the scene prior to the murder. No attempt was made to prevent the murders or to investigate them properly. This is a damning indictment of the RUC and the contempt they held for our relatives and wider community.

“We understand the limitations of the Ombudsman’s office following legal proceedings which prevents her from stating the word ‘collusion’ or something akin to it. We still believe that collusion play a significant role in our case. From the imported weapon used in the murder, to the role of loyalist state agents and the RUC dropping the surveillance on the UDA/UFF two days before which essentially allowed two murders and twos attempted murders to happen.

Peter Gallagher was shot and killed by a loyalist gunman.

"A known prolific loyalist serial killer and his gang were given the greenlight to commit murder with no fear of repercussions.

“Failure to investigate the murder and update our family further compounds our belief of collusion. The report revealed startling information from the murder scene. It heavily comprised with the weapon being removed from the scene and taken to a local Army Barracks to be ‘made safe’. This fact came as a great surprise and concern to our family and our legal team. This is practically unheard of in any murder investigation.

“Tampering with key evidence from a murder scene is a major red flag. Our legal team will write to the PSNI for more information about this and other issues raised in the report.

"Whilst the report could in our view went further, we accept it as a damning indictment of the RUC and its successor, the PSNI.

"How can victims’ families of those killed in the conflict have any confidence in the legal system here? There is no true recourse for victims’ and their families. Take the families of Pat Finucane and Sean Brown as an example. The have been shunned at every turn by the British government in this jurisdiction. We are committed to achieving full truth and justice for Peter Gallagher. We have fought for over 32 years, and we are willing to see this through. We are going nowhere.

“Now we have the report and its established facts, they will form the basis of our next steps. The facts laid out in this report are indisputable and as the Ombudsman said, require a full and independent investigation to establish the full truth especially in relation to British state agents involved in the murder. Who knows what dirty secrets have yet to be revealed.

“We wish to thank all the team at Relatives for Justice, our legal team at KRK Law and South Antrim Sinn Féin representatives for their continued support and hard work. We would be nowhere without them. It is heartwarming to see the support we have in our campaign from the people of Toome and beyond. ‘Big Peter’ is fondly remembered by all who knew him. We owe to ourselves to honour this great man. If it was one of us, we know for a fact that he wouldn’t stop fighting.”