Kevin Winters

Kevin Winters, solicitor and founding partner of Belfast firm KRW LAW LLP, welcomed “recent success in the High Court for relatives of the victims and survivors”, which he said “could not be any more timely”.

In 2018, KRW obtained a High Court discovery order directing the UK government to hand over all documents relating to the bombings.

The UK government appealed against the granting of the discovery order and sought to have the civil action struck out on the basis of limitation, lack of jurisdiction and a lack of evidence to support allegations of collusion.

Last month, the High Court dismissed the attempt to have the civil action struck out, saying this had been brought too soon.

Mr Winters said the decision “means we can now revisit the discovery order and we can now proceed to a long overdue full hearing”.

He added: “It is also timely given recent positive commentary by the chief constable of the PSNI, Jon Boutcher, on the need for a revised victim-centered approach on Troubles-related cases.

“I welcome this and his specific endorsement of the need for greater transparency and accountability by all state agencies where wrong has occurred.

“This could not be a more timely antidote to the approach taken by the British State to date in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings litigation.”

He concluded: “It is now time to withdraw British state opposition to attritional time-consuming and expensive legal applications which prevent families of victims and survivors accessing justice and truth.

“It is now time to implement the views of the chief constable when he declares that families of victims and survivors should come first. Let the 50 years since the tragedy of Dublin-Monaghan bombings be a watershed moment in legacy litigation.”