Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“I welcome today’s judgement by the Court of appeal that the Police Ombudsman’s statement about the Loughinsland murders “overstepped the mark” by amounting to findings of criminal offences by members of the police force.
“Not for the first time the Ombudsman’s Office has been found to have exceeded its legal powers. The stinging rebuke of Dr Michael Maguire’s work should serve as a salutary to his successor.
“The Lord Chief Justice rightly points out that both victims and the police have a right to expect proper conduct of complaints by the Ombudsman. Clearly that hasn’t been the case in relation to Loughinisland.”