// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
No police collusion in sectarian murder but multiple RUC failings included tip-off to suspect
Robert Hamill was killed by loyalists in Portadown, County Armagh
An inquiry into the sectarian murder of Robert Hamill has found police officers who were in a vehicle near the attack did not condone or collude with the attackers.
However, the inquiry said there were multiple police failings in the investigation, including a tip-off to a suspect to destroy the clothing he wore that night.
The report, published on Monday, external, highlighted multiple wrongful omissions in the subsequent murder investigation including a failure to properly search the home of a key suspect.
Robert Hamill was 25 when he died after he was beaten by loyalists in Portadown, County Armagh, in 1997.
The inquiry concluded in 2009 and its report was completed in 2011 but the findings could not be published until three prosecutions in connection with the case concluded.
The inquiry concluded: "We find that Robert Hamill had been assaulted before the Land Rover officers got out of their vehicle.
"However, they were not aware of the assault and after they had got out of their vehicle, they attempted to restore order.
"They did not in any way condone or collude with attackers."
Although the inquiry found that the four officers in the police Land Rover could not have prevented the murder, the police investigation was flawed – both at the scene and in the days that followed.