A public inquiry into the murder of Portadown man Robert Hamill has concluded that police did not collude in his killing, but that multiple failings by RUC officers obstructed the subsequent investigation.

The report, published on Monday, follows a 77-day inquiry in 2009 that heard evidence from 174 witnesses in person and 37 witness statements. It was completed in 2011 but its publication was delayed until prosecutions connected to the case had concluded.

Mr Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic father-of-three, was beaten and kicked by a loyalist gang at the Thomas Street/Market Street junction in Portadown in the early hours of April 27, 1997, as he and a friend walked home from a dance at St Patrick's Hall. He suffered serious head injuries and died 11 days later. The inquiry found his fatal brain injuries were consistent with at least three significant blows to the head, potentially including kicks or stamping while he was on the ground.

The inquiry panel found that four RUC officers in a Land Rover parked nearby were not aware that Mr Hamill was being attacked until after they left the vehicle. The report states: "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."

Two of the three panel members concluded the officers were not guilty of any wrongful act or omission in relation to the death, but the inquiry's original chairman, Sir Edwin Jowitt, dissented, arguing the officers were guilty of a wrongful omission for failing to keep watch on the junction.

The report identifies a catalogue of failings in the police investigation, including a failure to keep full records, inadequate searches of a key suspect's home, and a failure to properly debrief officers at the scene. It found that a Reserve Constable, Robert Atkinson, deliberately obstructed the investigation by withholding information and telephoning a suspect's home, leading to clothing being destroyed or put beyond police reach. Atkinson was jailed in 2024 for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The inquiry also criticised the handling of the investigation by Detective Chief Superintendent, citing failure to keep a policy book, inadequate investigation of the Atkinson tip-off, failure to exploit telephone evidence, and inadequate management of forensic evidence.

Speaking after the report's publication, Mr Hamill's sister Diane said the family felt "totally vindicated" by the findings, but were disappointed that no one has been convicted of the murder. She said the people who killed her brother were "never fully held accountable due to the obstructive conduct of the state justice agencies."

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant described it as "especially disturbing" that Atkinson carried an RUC badge for years despite his actions.

The inquiry report makes a series of recommendations for the PSNI on training, staffing and the conduct of murder investigations. Its publication was delayed for years until all legal proceedings were concluded.