The Court of Appeal ruling yesterday was a significant step forward for families determined to uncover the full truth about alleged state collusion in relation to the murderous activities of the notorious Glenanne Gang.
The court's judgment also represents a setback for the PSNI which had appealed a 2017 High Court ruling that the force had unlawfully frustrated any chance of an effective investigation into the gang's deadly attacks.
The Glenanne Gang is believed to be responsible for around 130 sectarian murders during the 1970s and 1980s, including the Miami Showband massacre, the Hillcrest Bar bombing in Dungannon and the attack on the Step Inn, Keady.
Members of the RUC and UDR were involved with the loyalist gang and allegations of security force collusion are central to this case.
As we know, many of the killings that took place during this period were not properly investigated at the time and it was only decades later, when the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) stepped in, that relatives were provided with previously undisclosed information.
The HET had embarked on an investigation into the Glenanne Gang's activities and its report was 80 per cent completed when it was halted by the PSNI.
In 2017, the High Court held that victims' families had been frustrated in their expectation that the now defunct HET would produce a major report into the gang's activities.
In the appeal court yesterday, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan indicated the onus is now on the police to consider whether to complete and publish a thematic report.
While it was then chief constable George Hamilton who challenged the 2017 ruling, this matter has now landed on the desk of his successor, Simon Byrne.
The new chief constable moved quickly to accept the court's judgment and said work would begin to appoint an independent police team to 'conduct an analytical report on collusion'.
The Glenanne case is a further example of the wider difficulties faced by families struggling to get answers about killings going back several decades.
It is clear from the reaction of relatives yesterday that they are not going to give up on their quest for the truth and this needs to be recognised by the lawful authorities.
