AN SDLP councillor who as a child sat beside her dead father for several hours after he was shot dead by the UVF has criticised the abolition of the Historical Enquiries Team (HET).
Denise Mullen, whose father Denis Mullen was gunned down by the notorious Glenanne Gang at his family home at Collegeland, Co Armagh, in September 1975, spoke out after the PSNI revealed plans to close the unit last week.
Senior officers have blamed budget cuts for the closure.
Last night the Mid Ulster 'super council' representative suggested that "there is more to the HET closure than meets the eye".
The move came as Police Ombudsman Michael Maguire revealed that he has been forced to postpone several high-profile investigations - including one into the Glenanne Gang - after his budget was also cut by justice minister David Ford.
Mr Mullen's murder by the Glenanne Gang, which included members of the RUC, UDR and UVF, sent shockwaves through his community.
He was shot up to 17 times after being lured to the door of his isolated home.
After the attack his four-year-old daughter Denise sat with his body for several hours in hallway of their home.
Neighbours later spoke of how her white nightgown was stained red with his blood.
Earlier this year the Mullen family revealed plans to take legal action against the police and MoD in connection with the activities of the Glenanne Gang.
"Many of these cases involve collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British state forces particularly the RUC and UDR," Ms Mullen said.
"And what better way to put the lid back on this scandal than to claim that there are no more funds available to continue with investigations?"
Although the HET's work has been criticised in some quarters, Ms Mullen said the organisation had helped her family.
"The HET was the one point of contact that victims could go to with some sense of hope for truth and accountability," she said.
"In our case we are almost 80 per cent there to disclosure and now the pin has suddenly been pulled on all further development."
Ms Mullen criticised the British government's approach to dealing with the past.
"The British government has plenty of money for obsolete nuclear weapons like the Trident programme but doesn't seem to be able to explore murderous corruption on a horrendous attacks against innocent victims of the Troubles," she said.
Ms Mullen said her family will continue their campaign and have vowed to help other families in similar positions.
? Letters ? P18