'Early next year' before review of sensitive Kieran Doherty documents is complete, hearing told

During a Coroners' Court Preliminary Hearing into the murder of Kieran Doherty, conducted by video conference call, counsel for the SoS Jonathan Glasson QC said the "reviewing and collating" of sensitive material had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown so effectively, "we have lost the last four months or so."

He told Coroner Judge Brian Sherard “we hope that as the lockdown measures ease, we will be able to start the process” but he warned that as there is “still significant work to be done....if all goes to plan it maybe early next year that it is completed.”

Asked for his view Peter Coll QC, on behalf of the PSNI, told the court that “effectively, the position that’s been outlined by Mr Glasson is mirrored and endured by the PSNI.”

Mr. Coll outlined how “good progress had been made” before the lockdown began and will now “have to be re-instigated,” adding that “I think it’s probably realistic to say that we are looking towards the end of this calendar year.”

Real IRA member Kieran Doherty (31) was kidnapped before he was shot dead in February 2010. His body was found on the Braehead Road.

The Real IRA claimed responsibility for the killing of one of its own members, but nobody has ever been charged with the murder of the father-of-one.

In the weeks before his death, Mr. Doherty claimed MI5 attempted to recruit him as an agent and his family have raised concerns that state agencies could have played a role in his death.

Coroner Sherard has long been conducting a review of sensitive material relating to the brutal killing and today Fiona Doherty, counsel for the victim’s family, lamented the “unacceptable” delays in the inquest.

“I appreciate obviously the current situation and the difficulties that has caused,” said the lawyer but she added that “we are now almost four years into this process” in relation to a murder which happened 10 years ago.

“I’m not aware of any other jurisdiction where it would be acceptable for a time period such as this to have elapsed before the completion of the State's investigations under their duty,” she told the court.

While Ms. Doherty claimed the Coroner has not yet seen “a shred of documentation,” counsel to the Coroner Ian Skelt QC revealed that before the lockdown was imposed, some documents had been disclosed and there had been “an ongoing process reviewing that material.”

Mr. Glasson countered that in fact, the judge had “seen a great deal of documents.”

Mr. Skelt did concede that “Ms. Doherty is right that it’s a long period of time since the death of the deceased” but he added that there has been an “extensive and complex police investigation” and submitted that an Inquest would not be appropriate until all the relevant documents had been reviewed.

He suggested to Judge Sherard that “practically moving forward,” that another conference call review could be scheduled “to ensure that the process is being dealt with with as much expedition as reasonably possible.”

Adjourning the case to September 18, Judge Sherard said he felt “a level of frustration” but that given the current restrictions it “seems very unlikely that an awful lot of progress will be made in the very short term.”