A preliminary inquiry into the SAS killing of two IRA men in Derry almost 30 years ago has been postponed once more.
Danny Doherty (left) and William Fleming.
Danny Doherty and William Fleming were shot dead in the grounds of Gransha Hospital in December 1984.
The inquiry has been put back to the end of next month because the Ministry of Defence and the PSNI were unable to submit key evidence.
A previous preliminary hearing in October was also adjourned due to a delay in the MoD and PSNI sending the coroner’s office important documents and witness statements.
After expessing concern about the slowness of the case, the coroner set 30 January next as the new date for the inquiry.
At the time of the shooting, the British Military of Defence alleged Doherty was armed and that he and Mr Fleming were suspected of preparing to ambush an off-duty UDR soldier.
Fleming (19) and Doherty (23) were riding a motorbike when they were ambushed by Special Air Service (SAS) and 14 Intelligence Company soldiers of the British army on 6 December 1984.
It was reported at the time that the pair had gone to the hospital in an attempt to assassinate an off-duty member of the Ulster Defence Regiment who was employed there, and had intended to carry it out during a staff shift change at 8.00am.
The SAS were aware that an IRA operation had been planned to take place in the vicinity of the hospital after receiving a tip-off from an intelligence source.
An SAS unit, without the knowledge of the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the hospital authorities, located troops at the site keeping watch for two weeks prior to 6 December, however they had minimal prior information as to how the attack was to be executed and when.
At 8.00am Fleming and Doherty were spotted on the motorbike by the SAS sentries who were located within an unmarked car, which proceeded to ram it, dislodging Fleming from the pillion seat and causing the motorcycle to go out of control.
Fleming was then approached by two other SAS troopers who opened fire and killed him, claiming subsequently he was armed and they considered him a direct threat.
The motorcycle meanwhile had struck a kerb and thrown Doherty to the ground, where he was fired on and killed.
Subsequent forensic evidence showed six bullets struck Doherty whilst he was on the ground while Fleming’s autopsy showed he had four gunshot wounds to his head and 56 to his trunk and torso.
During the inquest into the shootings, the coroner stated Doherty had three gunshot wounds to the head and a further 21 shots to his body.
Following the killings, then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs,Peter Barry stated that “in Northern Ireland, under British rule, it was the army who set the ambush – it was an ambush, nothing else. No attempt to arrest was made. The men were shot dead without any chance to surrender.”
Bishop Edward Daly questioned the killings, saying ‘”do members of the Army have the right to use more force than appears necessary?”[7]
The DUP’s Gregory Campbell said he was “delighted” the two IRA men were intercepted and “executed” by the undercover army unit.
He added: “The only way the IRA will be dealt with is when they are executed. They deal in death and must be dealt with in death”
Speaking in the British House of Commons, SDLP leader at the time John Hume said: “This raises very fundamental questions as to whether the authorities have abandoned the rule of law, and whether we are now in a war situation.”
In November 2004, the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland decided not to prosecute three of the SAS soldiers involved in the killings.
Julie Doherty, the widow of Danny Doherty, submitted an application for a judicial review to be held into the killing of her husband and Fleming but it was dismissed by Mr Justice Girvan.
In his reserved judgement, Mr Girvan said the decision not to prosecute could not be challenged as it was based on the prosecutor’s assessment of the evidence.
In addition, he added: “The no prosecution decision was made in 1986. In 2004 it is much too late for the applicant to seek effectively to re-open a decision made in 1986 and not challenged within a reasonable time thereafter.”
Though the application for the judicial review failed, the jury at Doherty’s inquest criticised the five-man army unit for not attempting to arrest him or inform the RUC of the operation earlier.
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