The Police Ombudsman has confirmed that she will appeal the judgment by Justice Scoffield in relation to the Operation Achille and Greenwich reports, which she believes is a departure from the Court of Appeal’s clear ruling in 2020 (Hawthorne and White).
The Police Ombudsman has confirmed that she will appeal the judgment by Justice Scoffield in relation to the Operation Achille and Greenwich reports, which she believes is a departure from the Court of Appeal’s clear ruling in 2020 (Hawthorne and White).
In that decision the Court of Appeal held expressly that it would be appropriate for the Police Ombudsman “to acknowledge that the matters uncovered by [her] were very largely what the families claimed constituted collusive behaviour”, and the Ombudsman has, therefore, followed that ruling in subsequent reports. The Ombudsman seeks clarity as to the scope of her powers given that the judgment has significant implications for the work of the Office in relation to extant legacy cases, non-Troubles related historical investigations and complaints about current police officer conduct.
The Office also notes that Justice Scoffield makes clear that nothing in his judgment undermines or cast doubts on the professionalism, dedication or bona fides of the work of the Ombudsman’s Office.
Further consideration is being given to an appeal in respect of Operation Farrier.