RUC actions obstructed investigation into Robert Hamill murder, inquiry finds

A public inquiry into the killing of Robert Hamill has found a that a number of “wrongful acts and omissions” by RUC officers obstructed the investigation into his murder.However, the inquiry also found that the actions of RUC officers in a Land Rover close to the scene of the attack in 1997 “did not facilitate” the killing.Mr Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic, died after he was attacked in Portadown, County Armagh in April 1997.Mr Hamill and a friend were beaten by loyalists as they walked along Portadown’s Market Street after a night out.Mr Hamill, a father-of-three, suffered serious head injuries and died 11 days after the attack.The murder was the subject of a public inquiry to probe whether the actions of RUC officers had facilitated his death or obstructed the murder investigation.In 2004 the then Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy announced the terms of reference for the inquiry into the death of Mr Hamill.That inquiry ran for 77 days.