Page 6 - Irish Examiner USA

newsexaminer
6

2019 Scotland Urged To Reject ‘Britain’s Last Coroner Rules Out State Collusion

12th, Act Of Colonialism’ Over Rockall In Murder Of Daniel Carson
During The Troubles
June alks between the Irish

| Tments about fishing
and Scottish govern-
EXAMINER near Rockall island will esca-

late this week.
The dispute was discussed
IRISH at cabinet meetings in both
countries on Tuesday.
Tensions have been escalat-
ed in the past week over own-
ership of the rock and the fish-
ing ground around it.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
says he wants to see a resolu-
tion to the dispute.
“I think it’s fair to say that Coveney. over the island of Rockall. A coroner has ruled out state collusion in the shooting dead of
both administrations would “Scotland and Ireland are The islet, an uninhabited a Belfast warehouse worker early in the Troubles.
like to see this matter de-esca- very close friends and we will outcrop in the North Atlantic, A “flawed and inadequate” investigation was held into the
lated,” said Mr Varadkar. work with them to try to has been at the center of a dis- brazen and sectarian loyalist murder of Daniel Carson in the
Speaking in Cork on bring an end to this but what pute between Scotland and Shankill Road area in November 1973, Justice Adrian Colton
Monday, Tánaiste Simon we won’t do is change a policy Ireland over fishing. added.
Coveney called for calm amid which we have had in place The Scottish Government A work colleague told police she recognized the gunman as a
the dispute and stated his for decades on the back of a had threatened to take action person referred to as S1.
interest in resolving the issue. threat.” if Irish vessels continue to The individual known as Witness A later changed her story,
“We need to take the heat Earlier, an MSP called for operate in the zone around fearing for her safety, and the suspect was not charged with mur-
out of this decision and look Scotland to “reject complicity Rockall, which the UK has der.
for solutions, that’s what in Britain’s last act of colonial- claimed sovereignty over There is no evidence of any state involvement in the murder
diplomacy is about,” said Mr ism” and renounce any claims since 1955. C of Daniel Carson or evidence of any collusive activity between
state agents and the murderer prior to or subsequent to Mr
Carson’s death
The coroner said: “There was compelling and credible evi-
dence that the injury sustained by the deceased was as a result of
a bullet fired by a person identified as S1.
“There is no evidence of any state involvement in the murder
of Daniel Carson or evidence of any collusive activity between
state agents and the murderer prior to or subsequent to Mr
Carson’s death.
“The investigation into the death of Daniel Carson was flawed
and inadequate.”
His death was caused by a laceration of the brain due to a gun-
shot wound to the head, a statement from the coroner released
by Northern Ireland’s Judicial Communications Office on
Tuesday morning said.
The Ulster Volunteer Force has long been blamed for killing
the salesman from Dunmurry aged 29.
Mr Carson, from Brooke Drive in Belfast, was pronounced
dead at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
The coroner criticized the actions of the military and the Royal
Ulster Constabulary (RUC) during the investigation into Mr
Carson’s death.
He was urged by lawyers for Mr Carson’s family to find that
their actions were informed by bias linked to sectarianism,
focused on how S1 was treated while in custody.
Insufficient evidential basis existed for concluding that a senior
detective’s actions and those of his investigators were motivated
by sectarian bias, the coroner found.
Evidence supported the contention that those involved in the
investigation were entirely motivated by their view that Witness
A was unwilling to give evidence and that if she did her life and
that of her family would be in danger, he added.
This assessment led to S1 not being charged with Mr Carson’s
murder.
The coroner added: “Ultimately it is probable that a successful
prosecution in this case depended on the willingness of Witness
A to give evidence at any trial.
“The entire approach of the RUC was clearly colored by the
assessment that Witness A would not give evidence even though
‘the recognition/identification was never in doubt’.” C