An inquest for a former IRA commander could be hit by a delay because of police diverting resources to support the Omagh bomb inquiry, a court has heard.
A preliminary hearing in the case of Gerard 'Jock' Davison was told that it was not yet possible to set a date for the substantive inquest as a result of outstanding matters related to the disclosure of police files to the coroner.
Mr Davison, 47, was shot dead in the Market area of Belfast as he walked to work in May 2015. He had been involved in a personal dispute with other republicans. Three months after Mr Davison was killed, former IRA man Kevin McGuigan was murdered in a shooting in nearby Short Strand.
Coroner Patrick McGurgan held a preliminary hearing on Tuesday to seek an update on the disclosure process. The PSNI is seeking to withhold certain sensitive files from the inquest on the grounds of public interest immunity (PII).
Barrister John Rafferty, representing the PSNI, said some of the material that will be subject to a PII application had been prepared and was ready for him and fellow barrister Peter Coll KC to review before providing a formal opinion on the proposed redactions.
However, Mr Rafferty said it was unclear when the remainder of the material would be ready for counsel to review. He explained that police were having to divert resources to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, which began substantive hearings in January.
The inquiry is currently adjourned but is due to resume in the summer when significant police evidence related to the 1998 dissident republican bombing is likely to feature.
Addressing the coroner, Mr Rafferty said: “One issue which arises at the moment, your honour, is that, in relation to the PSNI’s concentration of its resources in respect of the Omagh bomb inquiry, as to whether or not it will be feasible in the very short term for Mr Coll and I to attend PSNI and complete our opinion.
“So we are seeking instructions on that, given that at least some of the material is ready for the opinion to commence, and I’m afraid I can’t say anything further at the moment in respect of our ability to do that, but we have sought instructions.”
The barrister added: “I hope your honour will understand that this is something which seems to be moving relatively quickly, and is a recent development and is being reacted to almost on a case by case basis to see what the updated instructions are. But it is something we’re obviously focusing on in this case and instructions have been sought.”
Mr Rafferty said he would update the court within 14 days on how the issue was set to impact on the PII process timeline. Counsel to the coroner Siobhan McCrory told Mr McGurgan that it was not possible to set a date for the inquest while the issues over disclosure remained outstanding.
“At this stage we’re not in a position to set a date for the substantive hearing,” she said.
The coroner listed the case for another preliminary hearing on May 8 when he will receive a further update on the disclosure process.
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