‘Significant’ settlement for family of ex-navy man killed by British army

A “significant payment” has been made to the daughter of a former Royal Navy serviceman who was killed by the British army in Belfast 54 years ago.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has settled the civil action brought by the family of Thomas Burns, a father of four who was shot in the chest as he was leaving the Glenpark Social Club.

He had served in the navy for over eight years before he returned home to live with his family in Belfast in 1965.

An MoD spokesperson confirmed it had settled a claim brought on his behalf and said it was “glad to have been able to do so given Mr Burns’ past service in the armed forces.”

An inquest into Burns’ death was held in April 1973, at which a jury returned a verdict of misadventure.

In June 2019, the then-Attorney General for Northern Ireland, John Larkin, accepted that this verdict was wrong, but rejected the request for a fresh inquest.

Then in 2023, a new Attorney General, Dame Brenda King, directed that another inquest be held, but it was cut short by the then-Conservative government’s Legacy Act.

This act stopped all legacy inquests in Northern Ireland which had not opened and heard evidence when it came into law.

The Labour government has since sought to replace the legislation with a new Troubles legacy bill.

Nine inquests which stopped as a result of the old Legacy Act are to go ahead, but this does not include the inquest into Burns’ death.

Last month, lawyers for the Burns family wrote to the new Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland requesting a meeting about their case.

Thomas Burns’ daughter Patricia said the settlement with the MoD was “just one legal mechanism in what is required to correct the public record”.

“We remain hopeful of state accountability for our father’s killing through the fresh inquest process which was granted in 2023 but cruelly withdrawn under the Legacy Act”.