Billy Wright Inquiry Statement
14 Sep 2010
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has received a copy of the report into the murder of Billy Wright, in December 1997. The Inquiry has been a complex and detailed one which considered 158 days of evidence.
We welcome the fact that the Inquiry found no evidence of collusion by state agencies or of any deliberate wrongdoing. Where failings are identified, in relation to the police, the Inquiry has concluded that these were not intentional or part of any deliberate act that was linked to the murder of Billy Wright. However, we do acknowledge that failure, by the RUC, to pass on intelligence to Prison Authorities in April 1997 may have contributed to the chain of events leading to the death of Billy Wright eight months later.
Throughout the Inquiry the PSNI co-operated fully with the panel and the Inquiry’s Legal Advisers, providing them with all material in our possession. The Inquiry was given full and unprecedented access to material held by the PSNI, including the most sensitive of intelligence held on our systems.
Whilst the Inquiry made a number of recommendations, none of these referred to the PSNI.
