(by Allison Morris, Irelandclick.com)

For Laura Hamill, the day her nine-year-old daughter Catherine was chosen to read a letter out to American president Bill Clinton on his visit to West Belfast was one of the proudest of her life.

The moment the little blonde-haired girl started to speak the room fell silent, and by the time she finished a historical event had been created.

There wasn't a dry eye in the house as Catherine told the crowd of dignitaries gathered at the Mackies plant how the saddest day in her life was the day her mummy told her how her daddy died.

What Laura didn’t realise is that one of the men who shook the hand of her little girl - then Secretary of State Patrick Mayhew - had with the wave of that same hand ensured that British agent Brian Nelson would never be brought to justice.

And as a widow at the age of 25 Laura Hamill could never have known then the role that British Intelligence and Brian Nelson had played in the killing of her husband.

Patrick Hamill was shot in the living room of his Forfar Street home on September 9, 1987. He was 29 years old and father to Catherine and Kelly.

The intelligence used to target the Beechmount father-of-two had come from one of the British state’s most deadly agents, UDA intelligence chief Brian Nelson.

In 1991 as Nelson faced life in prison for a catalogue of crimes, the British establishment was in danger of being brought down by their disgruntled agent who was threatening to spill the beans about British collusion.

Patrick Mayhew, then Attorney General was flown in at the last minute to broker a deal which saw 15 charges against Nelson dropped - charges including murder.

Under the terms of the deal Nelson was to serve only five years in England for conspiracy to murder Catholics and possession of a gun.

“It was some time after that day that I learned of the role Patrick Mayhew had played in the Brian Nelson case when he was Attorney General,” said an angry Laura Hamill

“And I thought, how dare you. How dare you shake the hand of my daughter when you were probably up to your neck in it.

“We’re talking here about major intelligence that goes to the very heart of the British establishment, right to the very top.”

The day her husband was murdered in front of Laura and her children will stay with her for the rest of her life.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that anything like this would ever happen to us.

“They came through the door and said they were from the IRA. I thought they were going to take over the house.

“They shouted what's your name and when Pat told them his name they looked shocked. I had thought it was because of Pat’s English accent.

“One just looked at the other and then he give the nod and they opened up.

“The noise was deafening, the children were screaming and I couldn’t even hear them with the noise of the shots.”

Still full of emotion even after almost 15 years, Laura says like many families, she needs to know the truth about her husband’s murder.

“I have never thought I suffered more than anyone else, because there are so many people who have lost their loved ones.

“But for it to have been plotted and planned, for any government to have sanctioned these murders - and they had to have been sanctioned - it’s just so evil. It goes so deep.

Who were they fighting? What kind of a war was this dirty war?”

Laura says it is obvious that the gunmen responsible for Pat’s murder had been assisted by the security forces.

“It took 45 minutes for the RUC to arrive on the scene, by that time the gunmen were well away.

“Years later I found out it was the UFF, it was C Company, and the same gun was used to murder Francisco Notarantonio.

“What you have to remember was that we lived facing the Mackies foundry, and there were army patrols every 20 minutes.”

Laura says it was well known in the area that if you hadn’t seen a patrol in 40 minutes someone was going to be killed.

“Kelly was just three and a half at the time but she still remembers. She says she’ll never forget the black leather gloves and black bomber jacket. It was an act of barbarism coming into someone’s home and murdering them. There has to be a way to address the unanswered questions.

“They are asking us to live in peace with each other but you can’t even be at peace with yourself when there are so many questions left unanswered,” Laura added.

“I would say to Tony Blair - you have the power to tell us the truth and the truth will set you free.”

This article appeared first on the Irelandclick.com web site on June 24, 2002.

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