THE UK's Supreme Court has ruled out a fresh inquest into the death of one of three neighbours killed by an IRA bomb 35 years ago.
Eugene Dalton and Sheila Lewis were killed in the bombing in Derry in 1988 while Gerard Curran died seven months later from his injuries.
Mr Dalton's family took a case under the Human Rights Act but judges said his death happened too long before the act came into effect in 2000, according to the BBC.
The attack became known as the "Good Samaritan bombing".
That was because the three friends who died had gone to check on a neighbour kidnapped earlier by the IRA.
At the time, the IRA apologised for killing the civilians, saying that the device was intended to kill soldiers.
Seven Supreme Court judges, including the Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Dame Siobhan Keegan, arrived at their decision on Wednesday.
In 2013, a Police Ombudsman report found RUC officers had information about an IRA booby-trap bomb at a house in the housing estate but did nothing to warn residents of the possible danger.
The watchdog identified a failure in the police obligation to protect the lives of the public.
The then Attorney General, John Larkin QC, decided a new inquest was not advisable.
Mr Dalton's daughter Rosaleen launched judicial review proceedings against his decision, claiming such a tribunal could help to establish responsibility for police failures.
In 2017, a High Court judge refused to quash the attorney general's decision.
But three years later the Court of Appeal reached a different conclusion, ruling in favour of the Dalton family.
The decision by the Supreme Court will be a blow fore the families and could have implications for other families seeking new inquests in Troubles-related cases.
A spokesman for the KRW Law who represent the family described the decision as "disappointing" but not unexpected.
Anurag Deb of the firm's Conflict Litigation Department said:
"We will consider the judgment carefully with our client and counsel and consider whether to bring the matter to the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg."
