Police watchdog handed new evidence by relatives on 1971 McGurk’s Bar bombing by unionist UVF

RELATIVES of the 1971 McGurk's Bar bombing victims have told a police watchdog that documents they have obtained contain evidence of state forces’ collusion in the attack.

Family members of some of the 15 people killed in the loyalist blast in Belfast met with representatives of the Police Ombudsman’s office to press for a new investigation.

The bombing was carried out by the UVF but had initially been presented by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) as an accidental “own goal” by the IRA, prompting speculation that the dead might have included IRA members who were carrying the device.

A Police Ombudsman’s report in 2011 said RUC officers had shown an “investigative bias” with the original apportioning of blame on the IRA.

Bereaved relatives believe papers recently obtained in a trawl of historic records indicate that senior officers and others in authority were guilty of collusion.

They say the papers prove the bomb was planted in the doorway of the pub.

They claim the authorities therefore knew from early in the investigation that the bomb had been left at the door rather than detonating in the possession of someone inside.

They contend that the subsequent portrayal of the bombing as an IRA “own goal” was an act of collusion with loyalists.

Robert McClenaghan, whose 73-year-old grandfather Philip Garry died in the bombing, said the Ombudsman’s Office should open a fresh probe.

“We are here today to present this new evidence to the Police Ombudsman,” he said on Friday in Belfast.

“The Police Ombudsman can only reinvestigate McGurk’s Bar if there is new evidence or if it is a very grave or exceptional set of circumstances. We believe that we fit those circumstances because we believe this is a very grave and exceptional situation that has developed since we found these new documents.

“We believe there is enough new evidence to warrant a finding of collusion.”

Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly and Nichola Mallon of the SDLP joined the families as they met Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire.

Afterwards, a spokesman for the Police Ombudsman described the meeting as “cordial and informative”.

A further meeting is planned after the new evidence has been considered.