14 September 2026
Relatives for Justice (RFJ) stands in solidarity with the family of Robert Hamill following today’s publication of the report of the public inquiry into his murder.
Robert was beaten to death in a brutal sectarian attack in Portadown in April 1997. No one has ever been prosecuted for his murder.
The report, which was completed in 2011 but published today, concludes:
• That there were multiple wrongful omissions in the subsequent murder investigation into the killing of Robert Hamill by the RUC.
Robert’s family have clearly said today that they link these failings to the reality that those who killed their brother have not been held accountable for his murder.
The public inquiry into his killing was announced by the British Government in 2004, following concerns about the circumstances of the murder and the subsequent RUC investigation.
The Inquiry concluded its hearings in 2009 and completed its report in 2011. However, publication was postponed because of criminal proceedings arising from the case, which did not finally conclude until 2024.
For Robert’s family, this has meant an extraordinary delay of almost 17 years since the Inquiry concluded its hearings to finally see its findings published. It is almost 30 years since Robert’s murder.
Much has been learned and established since then about the nature and extent of collusion since the conclusion of the Inquiry, including the role of state agents, the relationship between British security forces – including the RUC – and loyalist paramilitary groups, and the significance of acts and omissions by state bodies.
Investigations by the Police Ombudsman, legacy inquests, Operation Kenova and civil litigation have exposed patterns and practices that have significantly developed our understanding of collusion. The evidence considered by the Hamill Inquiry must therefore be viewed in the context of what we know today, and not simply through the lens of a report completed in 2011. The findings of multiple wrongful omissions by the RUC, together with the evidence heard by the Inquiry and what has since been established about collusion and the role of state actors, must be considered systemically.
In 2024, former RUC Reserve Constable Robert Cecil Atkinson pleaded guilty at Craigavon Crown Court to conspiring to pervert the course of justice in relation to the police investigation into Robert Hamill’s murder. In sentencing Atkinson, the trial judge told him: “You have been a disgrace to your uniform and have continued to serve as a police officer for years afterwards as a criminal – for there is no other description for you.”
The publication of this report brings to a conclusion another of the major public inquiries established more than two decades ago to examine unresolved conflict-related killings and allegations of state wrongdoing. Its publication after such an extraordinary delay is a further reminder of the unacceptable length of time bereaved families have been required to wait for truth and accountability.
As attention now turns to the forthcoming public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the experience of the Hamill family underlines once again the importance of ensuring that families have access to independent, effective and timely processes capable of establishing the truth. Families should not have to wait decades for answers about the deaths of their loved ones.
RFJ stands in solidarity with the Hamill family today and echo Diane Hamill’s advice urging us to take time to carefully examine the Inquiry’s findings and the evidence underpinning them.
ENDS
The Report of the Inquiry can be read here Robert Hamill Inquiry
