News

Still no appeal for prison officer accused

Damien McLaughlin leaving Laganside Court prior to his disappearance, the Co Tyrone man charged in connection with the murder of David Black, has not been seen since November.
Damien McLaughlin leaving Laganside Court prior to his disappearance, the Co Tyrone man charged in connection with the murder of David Black, has not been seen since November. Damien McLaughlin leaving Laganside Court prior to his disappearance, the Co Tyrone man charged in connection with the murder of David Black, has not been seen since November.

Police have refused to launch a public appeal for information for on the run republican Damien McLaughlin, saying the matter is now under investigation by the Police Ombudsman.

McLaughlin, 40, who was on bailed for offences linked to the murder of prison officer David Black, has not been seen since mid November last year when he failed to report to police.

He had been due to stand trial charged with aiding and abetting Mr Black's murder, having a Toyota Camry car for use in terrorism, preparing a terrorist act by moving the vehicle which the killers used, and belonging to a proscribed organisation.

The 52-year-old prison officer was shot dead by dissident republicans as he drove to work at Maghaberry prison in November 2012.

Dr Michael Maguire's office confirmed yesterday that after making enquiries with the PSNI to establish the circumstances surrounding the handling of the case the Ombudsman decided it was "necessary in the public interest to conduct an investigation to establish whether there were any failings in police conduct or in policing systems in the management of Mr McLaughlin’s bail conditions".

Adding; "We are now beginning the process of securing and examining relevant evidence, including police records.

"A report on the findings of the investigation will be published in due course".

It is an unusual move for the ombudsman to initiate an investigation without a complaint from the public.

Of the 3,018 complaints the ombudsman's office received last year, just 14 had been initiated by Dr Maguire.

Police have already apologised to the family of victim David Black, who say they feel deeply betrayed by the justice system but do not want to comment further in case they jeopardise efforts to trace McLaughlin.

The Co Tyrone man, who had served a period in custody on remand before being bailed, had initially been fitted with an electronic tag but had his conditions changed to remove it.

He also changed address from Kilmascally Road, to an address in west Belfast, that was said to have been 'cleared out' when police called to check on his whereabouts four weeks after he had last signed bail.

Even after the discovery an appeal for information on his whereabouts was not made and his disappearance was only made public during a scheduled court hearing on January 6.

This led to Justice Minister Claire Sugden ordering a review of bail decisions in serious cases, however, it is not clear if that will still take place following the collapse of the assembly.

There has been eyebrows raised in republican circles about the nature of Mr McLaughlin's disappearance and the lack of police response to it.

Mr McLaughlin's legal team told the court in January "we have nothing to say" about the matter, his family, including two male relatives who signed surety were said to have been of "no assistance" to police.

Republicans have in the past rarely skipped bail because of the knock on effect it would have on future applications.

Asked yesterday if the PSNI would seek public assistance in the search, a police spokesman said: "We have no further comment as it is now under investigation by the Police Ombudsman."