Hamill family to meet PM

Robert Hamill who died after being kicked and beaten

The family of a Catholic who died after being kicked and beaten by a loyalist gang in Portadown are to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The meeting between the relatives of Robert Hamill and Mr Blair is understood to have been arranged following a request from Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern.

The Hamill family have said a nearby RUC patrol did nothing to intervene in the unprovoked attack in Portadown town centre on 27 April 1997.

They are seeking a public enquiry into the killing.

Nobody has been convicted in connection with the death of Mr Hamill and the Greater Belfast coroner John Leckey decided not to hold an inquest due to the security risk to some witnesses.

In a letter to Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Mr Blair confirmed he would meet the Hamills.

This meeting would give the family "the opportunity to explain why they think a judicial inquiry should be set up into the circumstances surrounding the tragic murder of Robert Hamill".

Mr Blair is already considering family demands for a full judicial investigation in the loyalist murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane who was who dead in front of his family more than 10 years ago. His relatives claim security force collusion.

Before the talks with Mr Blair, the Hamill family is expected to meet Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson on 2 October.

Mr Corbyn said he hoped Mr Blair would order an inquiry.

"The most fundamental human right is the right to life. All Robert Hamill's family want to know is why he was allowed to be killed, and why his murderers escaped justice."