0:00:13 > 0:00:15# Here I am again
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# Back on the corner again
0:00:21 > 0:00:23# Back where I belong
0:00:25 > 0:00:27# Where I've always been. #
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Cynthia Johnston was seven years old
0:00:29 > 0:00:35when her father was killed by an IRA booby-trap in 1972.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38She left Enniskillen when she was 22.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39Now, she's come home,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42the trip prompted by the dramatic collapse
0:00:42 > 0:00:45of a trial of a man she's never met,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49a man Cynthia believes may have answers about her father's death.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54The Hyde Park bomb suspect John Downey
0:00:54 > 0:00:56walked free from court last month
0:00:56 > 0:00:59after he produced a Government letter
0:00:59 > 0:01:01saying he wasn't wanted for the attack.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04The case also brought to light
0:01:04 > 0:01:08details of a secret deal for so-called on-the-runs.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11When the story broke,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14it lifted the lid Cynthia Johnston had closed
0:01:14 > 0:01:15on the events of 1972
0:01:15 > 0:01:20and opened up a whole new set of questions for her
0:01:20 > 0:01:23because the judge revealed for the first time
0:01:23 > 0:01:26that John Downey was also a suspect
0:01:26 > 0:01:29in the bomb attack that killed her father.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Spotlight has uncovered inconsistencies
0:01:34 > 0:01:36in police handling of John Downey
0:01:36 > 0:01:41in relation to his suspected involvement in that attack.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43The Hyde Park prosecution collapsed
0:01:43 > 0:01:47because of what the judge said was a catastrophic failure.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Cynthia Johnston is now asking if the police
0:01:51 > 0:01:54have also made a mistake about her father's case.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I want those answers.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58My father deserves answers.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Anybody who has died of a violent death
0:02:01 > 0:02:06has the right to have their case investigated.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Coming up here, this was my primary school.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13- Really?- Uh-huh.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'I left Enniskillen in 1987.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19'Part of it was an escape, I think.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22'Then it was just the individual loss of a person.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25'That is something that you can't really get over.'
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Well, this is the spot where the explosion happened.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32This is the spot where my dad was killed
0:02:32 > 0:02:35along with his colleague, James Eames.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38This is it, this is the place.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41'Someone unknown to Cynthia
0:02:41 > 0:02:45'has placed two crosses at the site of the attack.'
0:02:45 > 0:02:47It's such a respectful thing, you know?
0:02:49 > 0:02:51They were nice men, well-liked.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53I'm not surprised that somebody has done this.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I know you'd spoken to me on the drive down here
0:02:56 > 0:02:58and you had said that you're not bitter.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00No.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03But I still want justice and I still want answers.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10Cynthia's father, Alfred Johnston, lived in Enniskillen,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12where he served as a part-time member
0:03:12 > 0:03:14of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16The 32-year-old was the senior member
0:03:16 > 0:03:18of a group of four close friends,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20all soldiers with the regiment.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Private James Eames, a Post Office engineer in the town,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29the youngest member of the group, 22-year-old Ronald Glass...
0:03:30 > 0:03:33..and the fourth man, Robert Cranston.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Well, we met through the Territorial Army
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and it was always good fun with each other.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43And I just suppose that would have carried on
0:03:43 > 0:03:45when we did go into the UDR.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49We would have had a better banter together, as well.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And it was more like a family, really,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and they did look after each other.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Cherrymount and the Irvinestown Road outside Enniskillen...
0:04:00 > 0:04:03the 25th of August, 1972.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06A UDR team on patrol.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09The four-man unit -
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Glass, Cranston, Johnston and Eames.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17A couple of minutes to midnight
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and the men are nearing the end of their shift.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25We had been briefed before going out that a car had been stolen
0:04:25 > 0:04:28and that's when we noticed the strange car
0:04:28 > 0:04:31pulled in very closely to the side of the road.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33The patrol need to inform their superiors
0:04:33 > 0:04:35about the suspicious vehicle.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38There were no radios available for us
0:04:38 > 0:04:41as the radios were giving problems, at that time.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44That is the reason why Alfie and Jimmy
0:04:44 > 0:04:46were going to the phone box -
0:04:46 > 0:04:49because we had no way of contacting base
0:04:49 > 0:04:50without the radios.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57We went down, back down the road, and cut into the hedge to observe
0:04:57 > 0:05:01if anyone came to lift it or, you know, any movement around it.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07But there were others hiding in ditches that night,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09also watching.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11In the field above the car,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15an IRA bomber was waiting for a lorry carrying off-duty squaddies
0:05:15 > 0:05:19to return from recreational leave in town.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22An army lorry came from the Enniskillen direction
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and just watched it come out to opposite the car
0:05:25 > 0:05:26and the blast went up.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33There was a flash, a bang and just...
0:05:33 > 0:05:35it was sort of mayhem, then,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37with soldiers jumping out of the lorry and...
0:05:39 > 0:05:41There were soldiers crying and...
0:05:42 > 0:05:44..some injured and...
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Just basically from that...
0:05:48 > 0:05:51It's hard to know what everything really came in, then,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54all the forces came in and we got...
0:05:57 > 0:05:58Sorry.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04There was a search started for Alfie and Jimmy.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07We had been calling for them but no answer.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Another fellow that we knew that was in the UDR, he came along
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and showed us a bit of a coloured belt
0:06:15 > 0:06:18which we knew that everyone was wearing.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20We knew then that...
0:06:22 > 0:06:25..things were a lot worse than what we had thought they were.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Quite easily, all four of us could've been killed.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38Quite easily.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43And the amazing thing is, like,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46it was a bomb that wasn't even meant for us.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52So, Robert, this is footage of that scene.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- Yes.- So have a look at this.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56That's from the next day.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58That's atrocious.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Like so many others who've suffered,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Robert had assumed the trail had gone cold
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and the investigation consigned to history.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09I thought it had just been forgotten about,
0:07:09 > 0:07:10like so many others.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14I felt that it was just a statistic in a book.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19So who killed Lance Corporal Johnston
0:07:19 > 0:07:20and Private James Eames?
0:07:20 > 0:07:24The Downey judgment revealed that there was evidence
0:07:24 > 0:07:27linking John Downey to the Cherrymount bomb.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31Tonight, Spotlight can reveal the nature of that evidence.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32A single fingerprint
0:07:32 > 0:07:36found on the tape wrapped around the bomb's batteries,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38recovered from the scene.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The information comes from a Historical Enquiries Team report
0:07:42 > 0:07:44into the Cherrymount bomb.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49It shows the RUC had evidence to connect two men to the attack.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51One suspect, a man with bomb-making experience,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53has since died.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57The fingerprint which was found belonged to the second suspect
0:07:57 > 0:08:00but he could not be identified at the time.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Fingerprint evidence from scores of people known to Gardai
0:08:05 > 0:08:10had been passed on to the RUC at various times in the 1970s.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15On at least one occasion, John Downey's prints were shared.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Two Garda officers were shot dead in Roscommon in July, 1980.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And a set of fingerprints taken that day,
0:08:22 > 0:08:23of a man living in Cavan,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28were given to the RUC and to the Metropolitan Police.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31They were identical to fingerprints found
0:08:31 > 0:08:34on the bomb that killed Johnston and Eames.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Suspect two could now be identified
0:08:37 > 0:08:39as John Downey.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Despite this, no attempt was made by the RUC
0:08:45 > 0:08:49to extradite John Downey from the Republic.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51And the fact that he was wanted for questioning
0:08:51 > 0:08:53about the Eames-Johnston murder
0:08:53 > 0:08:57was not circulated to police in Britain.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59I found it very, very upsetting
0:08:59 > 0:09:02that there seemed to be no move forward at that time.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06If that information was used wisely,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10we know that a person could possibly have been stopped
0:09:10 > 0:09:14and the people that he worked with could possibly have been stopped.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Garda authorities considered Downey
0:09:17 > 0:09:21to be one of the most senior IRA figures in the Republic.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24And they believed on at least two occasions
0:09:24 > 0:09:27he met with IRA operatives in Dublin
0:09:27 > 0:09:30known to be travelling to and from England.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32'An amateur cameraman took these pictures
0:09:32 > 0:09:34'minutes after the explosion at Harrods.'
0:09:34 > 0:09:38In the early 1980s, England was a key target for the IRA.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41A series of high-profile locations were bombed.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43'..officers killed and injured
0:09:43 > 0:09:45'were caught in the blast as they examined the car...'
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Still wanted in Northern Ireland,
0:09:47 > 0:09:51John Downey was free to travel to London in 1982.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55The attack in Hyde Park proved to be
0:09:55 > 0:09:58one of the most notorious IRA atrocities.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Four soldiers from the Household Cavalry
0:10:01 > 0:10:02were killed by the blast
0:10:02 > 0:10:04and several were injured.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Seven of their horses also died.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10'In all, 23 people were taken to hospital,
0:10:10 > 0:10:14'17 of them civilians who had simply been passing by.'
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Police investigating the bombing got an early breakthrough.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The car that carried the bomb
0:10:20 > 0:10:22had been in two London car parks,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26leaving the second just four hours before the explosion.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29And the tickets handed in to those car parks
0:10:29 > 0:10:32both had John Downey's fingerprints on them.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39These fingerprints matched the set of John Downey's fingerprints
0:10:39 > 0:10:41taken by Garda officers.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45He was also identified from an artist's impression
0:10:45 > 0:10:47of a suspect seen by eyewitnesses.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Ten months after the bombing,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53the Met announced that they wanted John Downey
0:10:53 > 0:10:55for conspiracy to murder.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00'Scotland Yard say they still think he's hiding in Britain.'
0:11:03 > 0:11:06'Beneath the debris, dozens of people lay buried.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09'One question - Was the Prime Minister safe?'
0:11:09 > 0:11:13In 1984, the IRA bombed the Tory Party Conference,
0:11:13 > 0:11:18killing five people in an attempt to wipe out the British Cabinet.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22According to the HET report into the death of Cynthia's father,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25John Downey's name was circulated by police
0:11:25 > 0:11:27as wanted throughout the UK
0:11:27 > 0:11:29in connection with the Brighton bomb.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36But Sussex Police now tell us
0:11:36 > 0:11:40that John Downey is not currently wanted for the Brighton bombing.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45The HET report found
0:11:45 > 0:11:49suspect two for the murder of your father
0:11:49 > 0:11:53was also wanted for questioning in relation to Hyde Park.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Mm-hm.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59What was your reaction when you read those details in the report?
0:11:59 > 0:12:03It's shocking, to be perfectly honest with you. And...
0:12:05 > 0:12:08That is one thing I've really struggled with.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I just really struggled with that. I just...
0:12:11 > 0:12:14You know, I am somebody who asks questions of things all the time
0:12:14 > 0:12:16and I just pointed that out
0:12:16 > 0:12:19to a member of the HET team at the time.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I said, "Do you not think that if more was done
0:12:22 > 0:12:25"this person could have been stopped in his tracks?"
0:12:26 > 0:12:29The RUC only considered extraditing Downey
0:12:29 > 0:12:31for the UDR killings in Enniskillen
0:12:31 > 0:12:35after he became a high-profile suspect in Britain.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39The Director Of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland refused,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42saying the fingerprint evidence was wholly insufficient.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Four years later, the Met tried and failed
0:12:45 > 0:12:49to get the Attorney General to apply for Downey's extradition.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54In the unsettled political climate
0:12:54 > 0:12:57following the release of the Guildford Four,
0:12:57 > 0:12:58it was considered unlikely
0:12:58 > 0:13:01that such an application would be successful.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:13:08 > 0:13:12But there was enough evidence to justify questioning John Downey,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14so why was he sent a letter
0:13:14 > 0:13:18saying he wasn't wanted by the police in 2007?
0:13:24 > 0:13:26For other victims of The Troubles,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30the fear is that those suspected of murdering their relatives
0:13:30 > 0:13:33have also wrongly been told they're not wanted.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Last weekend, a group of 50 travelled from Northern Ireland to England,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41where they met the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Julie Hambleton, whose sister was killed in the 1974 atrocity,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48organised the informal get-together
0:13:48 > 0:13:52to strengthen ties between Northern Irish and English victims.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55I know I'm preaching to the converted, here.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00Many of you know the grief and the suffering and the loss
0:14:00 > 0:14:03that we know, as a family.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07The OTR letters are meant to be statements of fact -
0:14:07 > 0:14:10an individual is not wanted by police.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13But that's not how it feels to many relatives.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18'My sister went out that night and she was killed.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21'Nearly 40 years on, it's 40 years this year,'
0:14:21 > 0:14:25we then find out that terrorists,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27known terrorists,
0:14:27 > 0:14:33have been given letters for Get Out Of Jail Free cards.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37What on earth is happening to our justice system?
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Stephen Gault,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41whose father was killed in the 1987 Enniskillen bomb,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43travelled to Birmingham.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45He was also one of a group of victims
0:14:45 > 0:14:48who expressed their anger about the OTRs
0:14:48 > 0:14:51directly to politicians, at Stormont.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54HE SHOUTS
0:14:54 > 0:14:57'To say I was upset was an understatement.'
0:14:57 > 0:14:59I felt sick, re-traumatised.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01The whole thing brought back painful memories
0:15:01 > 0:15:02of the day my father was murdered.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I know from the press that there was two people
0:15:06 > 0:15:08that were connected to the Enniskillen poppy day bombing.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12That received OTR letters. There is more than me that are feeling
0:15:12 > 0:15:14very, very upset and hurt at the minute.
0:15:14 > 0:15:15It just devastated me.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17What killed me the most, was that
0:15:17 > 0:15:19those people who we were supposed to trust,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21those people who we put our faith into,
0:15:21 > 0:15:25those people who are supposed to protect the most vulnerable...
0:15:25 > 0:15:31had just dismissed our grief and our loved ones' justice.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34What distinguishes the Downey letter from others
0:15:34 > 0:15:39is that the Downey letter was issued in error, he WAS wanted by the Met.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41But leaving that error aside,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45how could John Downey NOT be wanted for questioning
0:15:45 > 0:15:47about the Cherrymount UDR bombing?
0:15:49 > 0:15:51CHEERING AND SHOUTING
0:15:53 > 0:15:55As part of the Good Friday Agreement,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58hundreds of paramilitary prisoners
0:15:58 > 0:16:00walked free between 1998 and 2000,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04but in the years of negotiations that followed
0:16:04 > 0:16:05Sinn Fein pushed for a deal
0:16:05 > 0:16:08for people who were still wanted by police,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10the so-called on-the-runs.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17John Downey's name was among hundreds passed to the British Government by Sinn Fein.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21The party first asked for his case to be considered in 2002.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27In 2004, word came back that John Downey was a wanted man.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31The original fingerprint had been lost, but a photograph of it
0:16:31 > 0:16:36still existed and the PSNI believed they had enough evidence to
0:16:36 > 0:16:40arrest and question Downey about the killing of Johnston and Eames.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49Alex Elliott was a PSNI officer who took a personal interest in the case.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51He saw the police file.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54I knew that there was a suspect,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57a named suspect in the case.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01You knew that there was evidence in the form of fingerprint evidence?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Yes, I did.
0:17:03 > 0:17:09Despite this, Sinn Fein continued to ask about John Downey's status.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13On three separate occasions in 2006, the authorities confirmed
0:17:13 > 0:17:19Downey was a wanted man and again, in January 2007.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Then this happened...
0:17:22 > 0:17:26If you had told me some time ago that I would be standing here
0:17:26 > 0:17:28to take this office,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32I would have been totally unbelieving.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37May 8th, 2007 was devolution day at Stormont, the day when Sinn Fein and
0:17:37 > 0:17:41the DUP took up the reins of power together.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42Two days later,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47the PSNI decided John Downey was no longer a wanted man.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50He was sent a letter indicating he was in the clear.
0:17:52 > 0:17:58It seems, right up until 2006, and 2007, he was wanted by the PSNI,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00the PSNI would have arrested him and investigated him
0:18:00 > 0:18:02if he had come back to Northern Ireland.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04But that position changed.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09He was issued with the letter to say he was no longer actively being pursued.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12There is no explanation for the change in the PSNI's
0:18:12 > 0:18:14interest in pursuing Downey for prosecution.
0:18:16 > 0:18:22For more than 25 years, police thought the evidence from the Cherrymount bombing
0:18:22 > 0:18:25was good enough to arrest and question John Downey.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28And then, suddenly, they didn't.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35We've asked the PSNI what changed their mind about arresting
0:18:35 > 0:18:38John Downey for the UDR killings.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40They didn't answer our question, but said
0:18:40 > 0:18:46they intend to re-examine cases involving 228 named individuals.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51A year after John Downey got his letter,
0:18:51 > 0:18:57the PSNI's Historical Enquiries Team looked at the file reviewed by Alex Elliott.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Based on the evidence, they wanted to issue a new alert,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05naming Downey as wanted for the Cherrymount murders,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08a fact confirmed to Alex Elliott by a source.
0:19:10 > 0:19:16I was contacted in late 2010, by a source within the HET.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21This source suggested that fingerprint evidence was available
0:19:21 > 0:19:23and he was naming John Downey,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26the evidence was pointing to John Downey.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The HET source suggested that there was sufficient evidence
0:19:29 > 0:19:34for at least to go for extradition or at least an arrest and interview
0:19:34 > 0:19:38because he believed this person was entering Northern Ireland
0:19:38 > 0:19:41and that he should be arrested and interviewed...at the least.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46John Downey was leaving his home in Donegal
0:19:46 > 0:19:49to visit Northern Ireland regularly,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53but he was never arrested for questioning about the UDR killings.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55In 2010, the HET finished their report.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58They had completely reversed their position,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02they told the families there was no point in arresting the suspect
0:20:02 > 0:20:05because he was unlikely to make an admission.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10I have never seen a case similar to this where it has
0:20:10 > 0:20:14basically been swept under the carpet and forgotten about.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Was it worth bringing the boxes to Belfast? Up to HET?
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Well...
0:20:20 > 0:20:22hard to say. Erm...
0:20:23 > 0:20:27The statements in the boxes... There was fingerprint evidence,
0:20:27 > 0:20:28there was photographs.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31There has been no-one convicted since.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35I don't know, I may as well have brought them out
0:20:35 > 0:20:37and put them in the incinerator.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Evidence has been taken at the scene, at the time.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43Nothing was ever done about that.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46I am so incensed...
0:20:47 > 0:20:51..and I am incensed that this information...
0:20:51 > 0:20:54has...been there.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56The more I read...
0:20:56 > 0:21:02the more flabbergasted I am to think there was no means to use evidence
0:21:02 > 0:21:07and tie it up and make a case, but there has been nothing.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13I have to say, I have lost my faith in...delivery of justice.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Personally, I have lost my faith.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19I served for 31 years in the Police Service, it is hard to say,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23but I don't have the same respect for them upholding law and order
0:21:23 > 0:21:26and I think that's been proved in the Johnston-Eames case.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33As we know, John Downey travelled into the UK repeatedly
0:21:33 > 0:21:35after he got his letter in 2007.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41But when he went through Gatwick Airport on his way to Greece last year,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45airport security spotted what the PSNI had ignored.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49John Downey was still wanted for the Hyde Park bombing.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55But Ian Paisley Junior suggests there might be
0:21:55 > 0:21:57another explanation for the arrest.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59What has been put to me is that
0:21:59 > 0:22:01a senior PSNI officer knew the letter
0:22:01 > 0:22:04which John Downey had received was inaccurate.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Did not challenge it because they had hoped he would come into
0:22:07 > 0:22:10the United Kingdom and that the letter gave him,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12hopefully, the view that he could come in freely.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14So, he was lured in, on that basis.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16I think that's worth investigating.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Downey was arrested, but never brought to trial.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23When he produced his letter, a senior judge ruled
0:22:23 > 0:22:27that it effectively protected him from prosecution.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The judge also revealed that similar letters had been sent
0:22:31 > 0:22:33to 186 other people
0:22:33 > 0:22:37and that was what unleashed a political storm.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40OTRs, on-the-runs, were being dealt with
0:22:40 > 0:22:43and to sit there to say that you didn't know about the OTRs... and that's 2009.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47And where does it say there was an administrative scheme to deal with the issue?
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Where does it say in that that you have read?- It doesn't. - No, it doesn't!
0:22:50 > 0:22:53The DUP claimed to know nothing about the
0:22:53 > 0:22:54so-called "letters of comfort"
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and the First Minister threatened to step down
0:22:57 > 0:22:59unless the letters were rescinded.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01I am not prepared to be the head of a government
0:23:01 > 0:23:05that's kept in the dark in this way. I want there to be full disclosure.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I want the people of Northern Ireland to know what's gone on.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11To stave off Peter Robinson's resignation,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Secretary of State Theresa Villiers
0:23:13 > 0:23:15said it would be made clear
0:23:15 > 0:23:18people who received the letters could still be arrested
0:23:18 > 0:23:19and questioned.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23The DUP said the letters had been rendered null and void.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25I think that makes it very clear
0:23:25 > 0:23:29that they have a fairly worthless piece of paper.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32For if any evidence or information comes forward,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36they can be questioned and as a result of questioning, of course,
0:23:36 > 0:23:41if sufficient evidence is there, they can, of course, be prosecuted.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45So, if John Downey comes back to Northern Ireland, does that mean
0:23:45 > 0:23:49he could be prosecuted, in particular, for the UDR killings at Cherrymount?
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Barrister Gavin Duffy says there would have to be new evidence
0:23:56 > 0:23:58to bring a case.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00If there is evidence that was not available
0:24:00 > 0:24:05at the time that the letter was issued, the prosecution
0:24:05 > 0:24:10are at liberty to consider issuing proceedings against him.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12If he is in the jurisdiction,
0:24:12 > 0:24:17he is liable to arrest and liable then to prosecution in relation
0:24:17 > 0:24:22to any offence like that, but that really would depend upon there being
0:24:22 > 0:24:28evidence which was not available in 2007 when the letter was issued.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32While it seems inexplicable Downey was told he wasn't wanted,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35the fingerprint evidence cannot be regarded as new
0:24:35 > 0:24:40evidence because the PSNI knew about it when he got his letter.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45So the question now is, how could the mistakes have been made?
0:24:45 > 0:24:48And that, essentially, is what David Cameron
0:24:48 > 0:24:51has appointed a High Court judge to investigate.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54The review will be looking at how the process was handled.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Whether other letters were given out in error as they were in the Downey case.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01What it will not be doing is starting to investigate new evidence
0:25:01 > 0:25:03against those people who received the letters.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05And so, it won't, in itself,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08create a situation in which prosecutions can be pursued.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12It doesn't seem to me that the review will really look at questions
0:25:12 > 0:25:16of legality and it may well be that this particular inquiry
0:25:16 > 0:25:19will be focused on trying
0:25:19 > 0:25:22to uncover the exact circumstances under which the mistake was made.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28Ian Paisley sits on the Northern Ireland Select Affairs Committee
0:25:28 > 0:25:30which has also launched an inquiry.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34He is determined to get former Prime Minister Tony Blair
0:25:34 > 0:25:38in front of the committee to account for the OTR letters.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41After all, the buck stopped with Tony Blair
0:25:41 > 0:25:44and it is up to Tony Blair to explain this process.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46What on earth was he doing?
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I think it opens a whole host of matters
0:25:48 > 0:25:51which Tony Blair really needs to give us
0:25:51 > 0:25:53clear and precise answers on.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55You will be one of the persons sitting before Tony Blair
0:25:55 > 0:25:57in the Select Committee.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59What will you be asking him?
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Tony Blair has to come up with the truth.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Why? Why did he do this? What did he actually do?
0:26:05 > 0:26:07What did he actually sign?
0:26:07 > 0:26:09And answer all those questions...
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And what did he get in return for all of this?
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Because, clearly,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17the citizens of the entire United Kingdom have been short-changed
0:26:17 > 0:26:23in all of this and it is constituents of his Labour members of Parliament
0:26:23 > 0:26:27who are now suffering as a result, not just constituents of mine.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34Back in Birmingham, victims believe someone should be held accountable
0:26:34 > 0:26:39for the OTR scheme which, they say, has added to their trauma.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Who in their right mind would think this was acceptable
0:26:43 > 0:26:45and logical and moral?
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Do they have no moral compass?
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Is there no ethics left in our politicians today?
0:26:52 > 0:26:54No longer is the door of a politician being knocked
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and politicians being asked to resolve issues for victims.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Victims are now speaking themselves. They have gained the strength.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04They have the courage and they want to go and speak for themselves.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07If politicians come on the back of that and support them, great.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10But no longer will issues be passed over to politicians.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11I'm angry.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And I'm really angry. My brother is...
0:27:13 > 0:27:16There is a new tone of scepticism here about what
0:27:16 > 0:27:18any of the inquiries will achieve,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22from a group of people who have lost faith that the justice system
0:27:22 > 0:27:25will ever convict the people who murdered their loved ones.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I have no faith in our justice system
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and the likes of Hain and Blair
0:27:32 > 0:27:36and their ilk are a disgrace on our political system.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41John Downey strenuously denies involvement in the Hyde Park bombing.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43I went to speak to him at his home in Donegal.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48He did say his time in custody in London was difficult for his family.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52But he declined to speak about the UDR killings in Enniskillen.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57He has given an interview to his local paper
0:27:57 > 0:28:01in which he spoke of his support for the peace process.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04He said, "We need to move forward, peacefully, together."
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Cynthia Johnston had never heard of John Downey
0:28:10 > 0:28:14until he walked free from court last month, now she will find him
0:28:14 > 0:28:18hard to forget as he has been linked to what the HET are said
0:28:18 > 0:28:20to have described as "crucial evidence",
0:28:20 > 0:28:22identified by Spotlight
0:28:22 > 0:28:27as the fingerprint at the scene of her father's murder.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32- If there is never any evidence, if he is never charged...- Uh-hm.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37..isn't it fair that he be described as innocent?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Yes. Uh-hm.
0:28:40 > 0:28:41I haven't used his name.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44I have never said he is the person responsible
0:28:44 > 0:28:45for the death of my father.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49What I'm saying is now that a name has come up that's associated with
0:28:49 > 0:28:52it, I would like an investigation to be done...
0:28:52 > 0:28:54..into whatever evidence
0:28:54 > 0:28:57and particularly the crucial evidence that they are talking about
0:28:57 > 0:28:59to find out who did it.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Why do you think it was swept under the carpet, as you see it?
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Well, dare I mention politics?
0:29:05 > 0:29:09But erm...I honestly think that a lot of these letters have been
0:29:09 > 0:29:13issued for political reasons, to keep Sinn Fein on board
0:29:13 > 0:29:18within the political process, to keep the so-called "peace process" going.
0:29:18 > 0:29:19Who knows?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22But it has been swept under the carpet
0:29:22 > 0:29:25and I can't see anything further being done about it.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32The OTR letters gave some an assurance that they no longer
0:29:32 > 0:29:35had to look over their shoulders.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39But others, like Cynthia Johnston, ARE looking back
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and are questioning why, despite the apparent evidence,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48their loved one's murder appears to be a case closed?