A settlement in the case of a victim of abuse at the notorious Kincora Boys’ Home has been hailed as a huge day for the survivors of an MI5-run paedophile network.

A settlement in the case of a victim of abuse at the notorious Kincora Boys’ Home has been hailed as a huge day for the survivors of an MI5-run paedophile network.

6:40 PM · Jun 23, 2025

·

1,508 Views

Survivor scores win in MI5-Kincora scandal

A settlement in the case of a victim of abuse at the notorious Kincora Boys’ Home has been hailed as a huge day for the survivors of an MI5-run paedophile network.

Gary Hoy (pictured, inset) obtained an undisclosed settlement over claims that a paedophile housemaster was protected from prosecution because of his status as an MI5 agent.

The notorious home in east Belfast (pictured) closed in 1980 and was finally demolished in 2022.

Mr Hoy’s legal action against the PSNI police and the British government was resolved on confidential terms at the High Court in Belfast, but it could open the path for further claims.

The 63-year-old Mr Hoy said afterwards: “This case was never about the money, it was about holding them to account.”

He had sought damages for the ordeal he endured after being sent to the children’s home in east Belfast, which was used a springboard for covert MI5 operations involving child abuse.

At the centre of the legal action was the role played by senior member of staff, William McGrath, who became known as the ‘Beast of Kincora’.

McGrath was jailed in 1981 for abusing boys as part of a paedophile ring operated within the care facilities. The former ‘housemaster’, who died in the early 1990s, also held a leading position in the extreme loyalist movement ‘Tara’.

The British authorities were accused of enabling McGrath to target vulnerable young victims for their own purposes, and actively obstructing a police investigation due to his role as an MI5 agent.

Claims for negligence and misfeasance in public office against the PSNI, British Home Office and Department of Health, in the duty of care to those targeted at Kincora, were settled behind closed doors.

A three-day trial was due to begin this week, but counsel for Mr Hoy announced that proceedings had been settled on confidential terms. No further details were disclosed.

Outside court, Mr Hoy described the ordeal he has endured for decades.

“I have carried this burden since the age of 13; I never told anybody about it at the time, and I still have nightmares and flashbacks about the abuse,” he said.

His lawyer, Claire McKeegan of Phoenix Law, described it as a huge day for all of the survivors of Kincora.

“No child should ever be subject to abuse while being in the care of the state,” she insisted.

“What happened at Kincora is well documented to be some of the most grave and horrific abuse perpetrated against children in the history of northern Ireland.

“This has been an arduous process for Gary and others who have fought the system and held them to account.”