18 December 1997 Edition

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Call for inquiry into shooting of Diarmuid O Neill

SERIOUS questions have been raised over the shooting of Volunteer Diarmuid O Neill as the trial of three Irish republicans came to a close in London on Tuesday.

Diarmuid was shot dead by police in London as they raided the house in Hammersmith in which he lay sleeping. During the trial disclosures were made by police which stand in contradictin to claims they made at the time.

News reports on the morning of 23 September,1996, carried reports that an ``IRA suspect'' had been shot dead in West London. The news developed with reports that the man had been killed in a gun battle and that there was a bomb factory in the house.

However, at the trial it transpired that Diarmuid O Neill was unarmed, that no weapons nor explosives were found on the premises and that the only shots fired were fired by the police.

Diarmuid was shot a total of six times; as he lay bleeding a police man stood over his head and with blood pouring from him; he was dragged down the steps of the house and into the street, where he was denied medical attention for 25 minutes.

Diarmuid was shot by a policeman named in the trial as `Kilo,' a member of the Metropolitan firearms unit. The operation started at 4.30am, but at 3.00am, as part of their briefing, officers taking part were shown a film of the aftermath of the bomb at Canary Wharf. There was also a video of an alleged weapons cache in a store, suggesting that the police were whipped into a frenzy before being sent to the house in Hammersmith.

Testimony by police at the trial, as well as a tape of the raid made by police which was played in court, have cast doubts on the police version of events.

Brian McHugh, one of two people with Diarmuid when he was shot, described the police action as being calculated to cause the death of one or more of them. Both he and Partick Kelly were very lucky to have escaped from being shot dead by the police.

The Justice for Diarmuid O Neill Campaign has demanded a full independent public inquiry into the shooting and its call has recieved support from MP's John O Donnell, Ken Livingstone and Jeremy Corbyn. Amnesty International, trade unions, human rights groups and Irish support groups in England have all voiced their support for an inquiry.

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