The family of a Royal Navy veteran shot dead by soldiers in Belfast in 1972 has settled a legal case against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a “significant payment”.
Thomas Burns was shot as he left Glenpark social club in the north of the city in the early hours of July 13, 1972, and later died in hospital. He had served in the Navy for more than eight years, including service abroad in Malta and Singapore, before returning home in 1965 to live in Belfast with his family.
When he died, he left behind his widow Kathleen, who campaigned for answers and accountability until her death in 2007, as well as four children who continued their mother’s mission to clear his name.
Quashing of original inquest
The family secured a quashing of the finding of the original inquest in 1973 of misadventure. In June 2019, then attorney general for Northern Ireland John Larkin KC confirmed that Mr Burns had been an innocent unarmed civilian who was shot dead without justification.
While an application for a fresh inquest was initially refused, following legal action the probe was directed by Attorney General Dame Brenda King in 2023. However, it was later cut short by the previous Conservative government’s Legacy Act, which halted legacy inquests that had not yet opened and heard evidence.
Family continues campaign
The family are continuing to press for their father’s inquest to be reopened. On Friday they confirmed that the MoD had settled legal action.
Patricia Burns said she wished her mother had lived to see it. She said: “On 13th July 1972, the army killed my father, an innocent man, for no reason and deprived me and my brothers of our father at a very young age.
“This was after he had served in the British Royal Navy for eight years overseas.
“I only wish my mum Kathleen had lived to see the settlement of this civil action.”
She added: “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state accountability for our father’s killing through the fresh inquest process which was granted in 2023 but cruelly withdrawn under the Tory government Legacy Act.
“In August 2026 we asked for a meeting with the British Prime Minister and the Secretary of State to discuss the reopening of the inquest we fought so hard to get.
“This settlement of the civil action against the Ministry of Defence is just one legal mechanism in what is required to correct the public record about my father’s unjustified killing.
“Our campaign will continue.”
Legal response and support
Her solicitor, Patricia Coyle of Harte Coyle Collins Solicitors and Advocates, said they were delighted to have negotiated the settlement. “It is not lost on the family of Tommy Burns that they have had to wait 54 years to get to this point,” she said.
“We have written to the Solicitor General for England and Wales for our clients requesting that the fresh legacy inquest be reopened for the family.”
Relatives for Justice welcomed the settlement for the Burns family, describing them as having shown “extraordinary determination in their decades-long pursuit of truth and accountability for the killing of their father”.
“This settlement is an important outcome for the family, but it cannot undo more than five decades of investigative failure and delay,” a spokesperson said. “Having finally secured a fresh inquest, it was particularly cruel that the Legacy Act prevented that process from proceeding. The family now await a decision on whether that inquest will finally be allowed to go ahead.
“We continue to stand with Patricia and the Burns family as they continue their pursuit of truth and accountable justice for Tommy.”
The MoD has been approached for a response.
