Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has issued a statement in response to the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland's public statement regarding the Kingsmill atrocity investigation.

"First and foremost our thoughts today are with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured in this awful attack," Chief Constable Boutcher said. "I want to acknowledge the pain and suffering that they all continue to feel. Their unimaginable suffering has been compounded by the lack of the fulsome and effective investigation that everyone would want and that they deserve." 

He acknowledged the Police Ombudsman's conclusion that failings in the RUC investigation occurred against a backdrop of "wholly insufficient" resources to manage an inquiry of the scale of the Kingsmill murders. This situation, the Ombudsman noted, was worsened by numerous other terrorist attacks in the South Armagh and South Down areas, which further strained limited investigative capabilities. 

Chief Constable Boutcher stated, "Areas of the report make for uncomfortable reading and I note the failings the Police Ombudsman has identified in the original investigation."

He also highlighted a key finding of the Ombudsman's report: "It is important to note that the Ombudsman found no intelligence that could have forewarned of, or allowed police to prevent, the murders nor did it identify any intelligence that indicated a direct threat to any of the deceased or injured."

Concluding his statement, Chief Constable Boutcher reiterated his commitment to the victims' families. "The families and loved ones of those targeted in this attack have to live with the consequences every day. I am determined to do all I can to provide these remarkable families with the acknowledgement they deserve and the answers they crave."