Once a request for an investigation has been accepted, the Commission is under a legal duty to carry out an investigation. The Commission will be open about investigations in the information recovery stage where it can, especially for the purposes of obtaining evidence through witnesses coming forward with new information and so that members of the public with a legal right to see the draft report can make themselves known to the Commission.
There may be reasons, such as prejudice to obtaining evidence, threat to life or other matters which mean that the fact of an investigation being underway is not published. Such decisions are kept under review, and in any event the final report from the investigation will always become public.
Potential witnesses should contact: ICRIR Information Recovery informationrecovery@icrir.independent-inquiry.uk
Those who consider they may have a legal right to see the draft report, such as a victim or close family member of the deceased, should contact: ICRIR Case Support casesupport@icrir.independent-inquiry.uk.
Current requests for investigation accepted into the information recovery stage:
- An investigation into the Guildford pub bombings on 5 October 1974. (Published 9 September 2024)
- An investigation into the shooting of Alexander Millar at Ardoyne Bus Station on 2nd May 1975 (Published 11 November 2024)
- An investigation into the killing of James Oliver (Seamus) Bradley on 31 July 1972 (Published 11 November 2024)
- An investigation into the killing of James and Ellen Sefton on Ballygomartin Road, Belfast, on 6 June 1990 (Published 11 November 2024)
- An investigation into the shooting of Thomas Sheppard in Ballymena on 21st March 1996 (Published 11 November 2024)
Separately the Commission regularly publishes overall data about the investigations in its Support, Information Recovery and Findings stages and other relevant information about requests made, accepted and refused. The Commission will not confirm the identity of a requesting individual, but such individuals may themselves decide to make their request public.