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NI legacy body accepts four new cases for investigation

Former lord chief justice for Northern Ireland, Declan Morgan is head of the ICRIR
Former lord chief justice for Northern Ireland, Declan Morgan is head of the ICRIR

Northern Ireland's legacy body has accepted four new cases for investigation.

The news was announced by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR).

It brings to 14 the number of Troubles legacy cases it has under review.

The commission said it was working with 100 people to progress their cases.

The new cases for investigation include:

The shooting of Alexander Millar at Ardoyne Bus Station on 2 May 1975. He was a member of the UDA singled out and shot at his workplace. No one ever claimed the killing.

An investigation into the killing of James Oliver (Seamus) Bradley on 31 July 1972. He was a 19-year-old IRA man shot dead by a soldier in Derry's Creggan area. A coroner later ruled his killing had been unjustified and that he had been unarmed at the time.

An investigation into the murder of James and Ellen Sefton on Ballygomartin Road, Belfast, on 6 June 1990. Mr Sefton was a retired RUC officer killed alongside his wife by an IRA undercar booby trap bomb.

An investigation into the shooting of Thomas Sheppard in Ballymena on 21 March 1996 - a 41 year old member of the UVF shot dead in a bar.

Commission meets Council of Europe

Northern Ireland's new legacy arrangements are opposed by all political parties and many victims' groups.

They point out that the number of people coming forward to the commission is dwarfed by the 1,300 unsolved murders in the police's Legacy Investigation Unit before it was closed down.

There were hundreds of other active cases with the Police Ombudsman's office and before the civil courts.

All those cases were turned over to the new commission.

Northern Secretary Hiliary Benn has promised to repeal many elements of the controversial legacy legislation, reinstating civil actions and Troubles-era inquests, but he intends to retain the commission.

The commission met with officials from the Council of Europe in Belfast, where it reaffirmed its commitment to provide human rights compliant investigations.

"This meeting gave us the chance to repeat just how important that commitment is for us, how it informs everything we do in the same way as our respect for the Good Friday Agreement and our focus on providing information to victims, survivors and families," said Chief Commissioner Declan Morgan.

The ICRIR is already investigating the Guildford pub bombings of 1974 in which four soldiers and a civilian were killed and 65 people injured.