PSNI issue formal apology to the 'Hooded Men'

The British Supreme Court made the ruling in relation to the 14 ‘Hooded Men’ back in December 2021.

Following the death of one of the men, Joe Clarke, the Police Service of Northern Ireland issued a statement on Tuesday expressing sympathy to his family.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Saunders, Head of Legacy Investigation & Disclosure Branch said: “The Police Service has written to a number of individuals, including the late Mr Clarke, and the next of kin of deceased individuals of the ‘Hooded Men’.“In this letter, we have acknowledged the findings of the United Kingdom Supreme Court that, by today’s standards, the treatment of these men at that time would likely be characterised as torture.“The Police Service of Northern Ireland has formally apologised for the actions and omissions of police officers involved in their treatment whilst in police custody in 1971.“The Police Service recognise the significant step taken today in issuing this apology. It is our view that this was the right thing to do to help give the ‘Hooded Men’ and their families recognition about how they were treated.”

In the landmark ruling back in December 2021, the Supreme Court found that the treatment of the men in British Army camps - including Ballykelly - 50 years ago would today be considered 'torture.'

"It is likely that the deplorable treatment to which the 'Hooded Men' were subjected at the hands of the security forces would be characterised today, applying the standards of 2021, as torture,” the judgement concluded.

"There is a growing body of high judicial authority in support of this view.”

The judgment followed a judicial review challenge taken by the Committee for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) on behalf of Mary McKenna, the daughter of Sean McKenna, one of the Hooded Men, who died in 1975. Mr. McGuigan, one of the Hooded Men, was also an applicant.

They had been seeking a full investigation of allegations contained in a March 31, 1977 memorandum that were first brought to light in the RTÉ documentary, 'The Torture Files', in 2014.

The 14 men had been subjected to Britain’s so-called ‘five techniques’, spread-eagling, hooding, white noise, food deprivation and sleep deprivation, at secret ‘interrogation’ centres, including at Ballykelly.

The 1977 communiqué from the then Home Secretary Merlyn Rees to the Prime Minister, James Callaghan, referred to the use of these five techniques as 'torture'.

The 'Rees Memo' is quoted in full in the judgment and reads: “It is my view (confirmed by Brian Faulkner before his death) that the decision to use methods of torture in Northern Ireland in 1971/72 was taken by Ministers - in particular Lord Carrington, then Secretary of State for Defence.

"If at any time methods of torture are used in Northern Ireland contrary to the view of the Government of the day I would agree that individual policemen or soldiers should be prosecuted or disciplined, but in the particular circumstances of 1971/72, a political decision was taken.”