Coroner Urges Swift Progress in portadown Loyalist Murder Inquest
Preparations for the inquest into the 2000 murder of loyalist Richard Jameson in portadown are to be closely monitored, a coroner has affirmed. Jameson, 46, was shot dead outside his Co Armagh home in January 2000, an attack believed to have been carried out by the Loyalist volunteer force (LVF) amidst a feud with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). He sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest.A review hearing took place on Friday morning at Dungannon courthouse, led by coroner judge Richard Greene KC. The hearing focused on updates regarding the ongoing process of disclosing and security screening police evidential files pertinent to the inquest.
Judge Greene emphasized that the inquest remains unaffected by the restrictions imposed by the recent Legacy Act, which halted numerous other inquests. “I can let the family be assured that, despite the fact that unlike previous inquests of a similar nature, where there was a guillotine effectively imposed upon the court, there is no such difficulty in this inquest,” he stated.
However, the coroner stressed the need for timely progress. “But that does not mean to say that timetables will be allowed to slip and that I expect in December, when the matter is reviewed, that a lot of the material on the agenda, in particular the undertakings and timetables for the processing, evaluation, marking up of the sensitive material will, if it isn’t already in an advanced state of completion, concrete timetables, realistic timetables will be provided so that a date for this inquest can be given.”
Acknowledging delays experienced in other inquests due to disclosure issues, Judge Greene added, “We will not be letting this matter slip.”
The next review hearing is scheduled for December 12th.
