Belfast Telegraph
THE meeting between the family of Kieran Doherty who was murdered by the Real IRA and the Independent Reviewer of the Security Services Lord Carlile to discuss allegations of MI5 involvement has been welcomed by Foyle MP, Mark Durkan.
Mr Durkan accompanied the Doherty family in a meeting with Secretary of State Owen Paterson in September and has raised the concerns over MI5's possible role in the case in the House of Commons.
The offer to Lord Carlile to meet with the family of Kieran Doherty was made by the Foyle MP who has campaigned for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. He said: "I welcome the fact that Lord Carlile has taken this act of personal interest, and has travelled to Derry to meet with the family of Kieran Doherty to hear their concerns.
"MI5 still have serious questions to answer over their activities in the final months of Mr Doherty's life.
"Given that Kieran Doherty was subjected to continuing harassment, the family understandably want to know the nature of these activities.
"It is to the credit of the family that in articulating their concerns the issue has attracted this interest from Lord Carlile. However, I don't want to create expectations around this visit or meeting.
"Lord Carlile is an independent reviewer in relation to security matters for the government. He does not have the investigative powers that, for example, the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland would have when probing police conduct.
"I wouldn't try to pretend that he was and I wouldn't accept anybody else pretending that he is."
However the murdered man's uncle, Vincent Coyle described the meeting as "full and frank".
He added:
"Lord Carlile assured us that he considered this first meeting as the beginning of his enquiry into Kieran's murder and that although his initial opinion was that it would be concluded in a short period of time, it would now take a while longer.
"We have every confidence that he will conduct a thorough investigation as befitting a man with 40 years experience.
"This is unprecedented in that, as far as we are aware MI5 has never been investigated before, in fact people refused to accept the organisation even existed so with Lord Carlile's help we will at last get to the truth behind Keiran's murder."
Mr Doherty's body was found stripped and bound on the outskirts of the city in February this year.
The 31-year-old was from the Brandywell area and was the father of a two-year-old girl and the Real IRA in a statement claiming responsibility for his death said he was a member of the organisation.
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