Lawyers representing the family of west Belfast man Gerard Slane have said it could take almost ten years for an inquest to be heard as the coroner was yesterday told of further delays in the release of evidence linked to the case.
In 2011 Attorney General John Larkin ordered that a fresh inquest be carried out into the murder of father-of-three, shot dead by the UDA at his home in the Waterville Street area of Belfast in September 1988.
A review by Sir Desmond de Silva into the death of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane presented new evidence linked to the Slane case and collusion between the RUC, British military intelligence and a faction of the UDA.
Shortly after his murder police montages of the 27-year-old, thought to have been provided by army agent Brian Nelson, appeared in a UDA magazine.
At a preliminary inquest yesterday the solicitor for the family was told that there was still no estimated time frame for the release of hundreds of documents contained in 20 files in the possession of either the PSNI or MOD.
While Coroner Suzanne Anderson acknowledged there had been some progress regarding preparation of the files, there was still no time frame for when the family's legal team might get access to sensitive material.
Ms Anderson previously wrote to the Northern Ireland Office and Cabinet Office about disclosure of material potentially linked to the case.
The inquest heard that all documents must be checked by the MOD, PSNI and crown lawyer to ensure that it is article 2 and article 8 complaint and information that may be a breach of national of personal security is redacted.
The material is then checked by Crown council for relevance before it is deciphered for release to the coroner and the Slane family's legal team.
Barrister Fiona Doherty representing the victim's family said there were concerns about "how they were placed to establish relevance" and asked that aspect of document disclosure be kept under review.
On January 25, Lord Justice Weir will review the progress so far as part of a comprehensive review of 54 legacy cases currently before the coroners court.
While Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, who ordered the review, has said some of the inquests could potentially be ready to be heard in the new year, lawyer Paul Pierce who acts on behalf of the Slane family said "at the current rate of progress" they could be looking at a further delay running into years.
"This inquest was ordered in early 2011 we are now running into 2016 with no time frame in place for disclosure. The family have waited almost five years and at the current pace we're looking at that amount of time again if there is not a push for these documents to be released," Mr Pierce said after the inquest.
"Most of this material has already been examined and cleared for use in Stevens, Cory and De Silva, there is no need to go searching through the archived and there is no reason for it to be continually withheld," he added.
