Lord Justice Girvan, sitting in the High Court in Belfast, yesterday granted permission to Hugh Kenny to challenge the decision by the PSNI, the Northern Ireland Secretary and the Ministry of Justice not to hold an independent investigation into the activities of the undercover Military Reaction Force (MRF).

Mr Kenny has called for “new independent officers from outside this jurisdiction to look at this case”.

Belfast solicitor Niall Ó’Murchú of Madden & Finucane Solicitors said the ruling is “an important step in forcing the State to properly address its legal obligations in relation to legacy cases, and in this case in relation to the MRF and its victims”.

Mr Ó’Murchú added: “This current MRF investigation is nearly 3 years old and with no apparent results, and surviving victims and witnesses are getting older.

“There is precedent for this approach in other cases such as the Stakeknife case, where independent officers from other countries have been enlisted to carry out a proper investigation.”