The High Court has found the PSNI breached its human rights obligations by failing to produce an overarching thematic report on the linkage between a 1976 pub bombing and other murders by a UVF unit blamed for 130 murders in the 1970s–80s.

A judicial review was brought by the family of Patrick Barnard, killed in the Hillcrest pub bombing.

Mr Justice Treacy found that the families of the victims had a legitimate expectation that the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) would publish an overarching thematic report on the case and its linkage to other murders and offences carried out by the Glenanne gang.

However, the PSNI Chief Constable and Assistant Chief Constable subsequently introduced changes to the HET’s practices which are “fundamentally inconsistent with article 2”, he ruled.

The judge said the Legacy Investigations Branch (LIB) of the PSNI, to which responsibility for legacy operations was transferred in 2014, differed significantly from the role and objectives of the HET.

This included a deviation from the HET’s role to investigate the possibility of linkages/new evidential leads arising from its re-examination of individual and linked historic cases. The HET was to forward evidence of links to the PPS and/or the Police Ombudsman.

Mr Justice Treacy said: “It is a matter of very grave concern that almost two decades after the McKerr series of judgments decisions were taken apparently by the Chief Constable to dismantle and abandon the principles adopted and put forward to the to achieve art 2 compliance.

“There is a real risk that this will fuel in the minds of the families the fear that the state has resiled from its public commitments because it is not genuinely committed to addressing the unresolved concerns that the families have of state involvement.”

Mr Justice Treacy gave the parties until the start of September to try to reach an agreement on the appropriate form of relief.

Solicitor Darragh Mackin of Belfast firm KRW Law, representing Mr Barnard’s family, told the Belfast Telegraph: “This has been a long and turbulent journey for these families.

“Not only has the court today ruled that there is credible evidence (of collusion) throughout the Glenanne series but the procedure and torment that these families have had to go through has been extremely unfair and there has been an abuse of power by the powers-that-be.”