Hamill witness claims she 'lied'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8230715.stm

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A woman has said she told police her ex-boyfriend was involved in the murder of Robert Hamill because she did not like him at the time.

Tracey Clarke's former partner, Allister Hanvey, was once suspected of murdering Mr Hamill, 25, in Portadown in April 1997.

Ms Clarke originally told police he was one of five people who attacked him.

Giving evidence at the inquiry into his killing on Tuesday, Ms Clarke said she wanted to get him into trouble.

The five were arrested after the attack, however, charges were later dropped because Ms Clarke retracted her statement and refused to testify against them.

Ms Clarke later married Mr Hanvey and had two children with him, but they later separated.

She told the inquiry that her original police statement in which she claimed to have witnessed the attack was untrue and also said that she felt bullied by police at the time.

However, she said she could not explain why she had not told either the PPS or the police that her statement inaccurate.

Last March, the chairman of the inquiry, Sir Edwin Jowitt, referred Ms Clarke to the High Court over her failure to attend the inquiry.

She was facing possible action for contempt of court if she continued to refuse to cooperate.

Last week, her lawyer told the High Court in Belfast that she would be "willing to give evidence at the earliest opportunity".

Mr Hamill died 11 days after he was kicked and beaten by a loyalist mob.

The inquiry is investigating if there was police malpractice in the killing.