PRESS NOTICE 06/01 25TH APRIL 2006

The Billy Wright Inquiry – Announcement Regarding Progress

At the second Preliminary Hearing, held in Belfast on Tuesday 13^th December 2005, the Inquiry Chairman, Lord McLean, stated that the earliest time when public hearings of the Inquiry could commence was September 2006.

The two main reasons for the delay from the time when it was anticipated hearings could have started were the time that it had taken for conversion of the Inquiry to one under the Inquiries Act 2005 and the difficulties the Inquiry were experiencing in obtaining documentary evidence. Whilst on 13^th December conversion had taken place and the Inquiry had gone on to serve notices on each of the principal agencies concerned (to secure documentation), matters have not proceeded speedily. Not all of the notices served have been fully complied with at the present time, and this, in turn, has slowed down the Inquiry’s work taking statements and assessing the evidence. In addition, the Secretary of State’s decision to convert the Inquiry is now subject to a Judicial Review application by Billy Wright’s father, Mr David Wright. In these circumstances, the Inquiry regrets to announce that it will not now be in a position to commence full oral hearings before Spring 2007.

As indicated above, the process of investigation and gathering in documentary evidence continues and it is now clear that it will be necessary to hold a further Preliminary Hearing or Hearings, to examine specifically the question of the identification and recovery of relevant documentation. It is hoped that a third Preliminary Hearing can take place after the Summer of this year, 2006, and a further announcement will be made in due course