Family seek answers over shooting

Mother was shot in her garden in Londonderry

The family of a Londonderry woman shot dead by the Army 30 years ago have said police are still refusing to give them the details of their investigation.

Kathleen Thompson, a 47 year-old mother of six was shot in the back garden of her home in Rathlin Drive in the Creggan area of the city by members of the Royal Green Jackets.

Her daughter Mindy and son David went to Strand Road police station in Belfast to talk to senior police about the investigation on Friday.

But they walked out of the meeting saying the police were still refusing to show them any files and they had been told nothing new.

So what emerged today was the question: Was there a proper investigation carried out?

Paul O'Connor of the Pat Finucane

Mindy Thompson said the meeting was "a publicity stunt by the police" and added that they had treated her family with contempt.

"We know for a fact that a soldier had been interviewed by their own military police and that he did shoot," she said.

"We wanted to know was this an honest reply, was it genuine? Was he the guy who shot my mother? And we wanted to say that she was an innocent victim.

"But he wasn't giving us anything."

File 'missing'

Mrs Thompson's family had been told shortly after her death that the file on her shooting was missing.

Nearly three decades after the shooting the file was recovered shortly before a television programme.

But Paul O'Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre, who has been supporting the family's campaign for a full investigation into what happened said it was still unclear whether any proper investigation was carried out by the police.

He said: "The family were first told there was no file available. Then later the file was found. Then the file was lost again.

"Today there were no copies of any file and we couldn't get location maps or photographs.

"So what emerged today was the question: Was there a proper investigation carried out?"