A new chair has been appointed to the Robert Hamill Inquiry by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn ahead of a long-awaited publication of its report.
Mr Benn named the new chair of the inquiry as Sir John Evans, a former President of the Association of Chief Police Officers and retired Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.
Sir John had previously been a panel member for the inquiry into the murder of Robert Hamill in Portadown in 1997.
The Catholic father-of-three was beaten by a loyalist mob in April of that year and died in hospital 11 days later from his injuries.
RUC officers, who were in a nearby Land Rover during the attack, were accused of failing to intervene.
The work of the public inquiry was completed in 2011, but a report has yet to be published.
The inquiry had previously been chaired by Sir Edwin Jowitt, a retired Justice for the High Court, who Mr Benn said is “unfortunately unable to continue in the role”.
“Sir John was a panel member when the Inquiry was in operation, and worked closely with Sir Edwin on the report,” he said.
“Sir John brings a wealth of experience to the role as a former Chief Constable, and I know he will do everything in his power to ensure the Inquiry Report is published soon.”
In June of this year, former police officer Robert Cecil Atkinson was sentenced to 12 months in prison after he admitted to conspiring to cover up a phone call he made to the home of a murder suspect within hours of Mr Hamill’s death.
