A LEGAL bid to gain access to military information on the fatal shooting of a Derry schoolgirl 44 years ago has been hit by fresh delay.
Adjourning the challenge by victim Annette McGavigan's family, a senior judge was scathing in his assessment of the situation surrounding the provision of material for the action.
Lord Justice Gillen described the situation as "outrageous" and an expensive waste of court time.
He said: "If the public at large realised what happened here they would be aghast."
Fourteen-year-old Annette was shot dead by the army in Derry in September 1971.
Soldiers opened fire following rioting in the Eglinton Place area of the city.
According to eyewitnesses the teenager, still dressed in her school uniform, had been out looking for rubber bullets littering the ground.
She was shot in the back of the head and died instantly.
The soldiers said they had come under fire from the IRA - a claim disputed by those in the area.
Annette's family have been locked in a legal battle with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to preserve and gain access to records on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
They want the information to help secure a fresh inquest into a killing they say has never been fully resolved.
An application for leave to seek a judicial review was due to get underway at the High Court in Belfast yesterday.
But instead Lord Justice Gillen was forced to adjourn proceedings after being told about the situation on papers related to the case.
He made an order against the MoD for the legal costs "thrown away" by having to put off the hearing.
The judge added: "I strongly urge that my comments be passed on to the appropriate authorities."
