Commenting on the report Mr Donaldson said,
“I have sought to support Colleen and Paul’s families from day one. This was a brutal PIRA murder which robbed a family of their daughter and a husband of his wife. They had been married for just 18 months. It also left Paul Slaine seriously disabled for the rest of his life, having lost both his legs in this mortar attack.
The need for answers is unquestionable given what both families have endured.
I welcome the report being published but recognise that further questions remain.
Whilst the Ombudsman has found that the RUC could not have prevented the attack, there are questions to be answered around how the subsequent investigation was handled.
I understand the family calling for a judge led inquiry. The decision to choose only some cases for inquiries was a mistake by successive governments. Why was one murder deserving of such scrutiny but another not?
This report reminds us that terrorists remain at large in our community. People who took life and left victims with life altering injuries. It is therefore another reminder of why victims' access to justice must never be closed down.”
