60-year-old man charged with 1994 murder of postal worker Frank Kerr in Newry

By Padraig Collins, PA

A 60-year-old man has been charged with the 1994 murder of Francis Damien Kerr in Newry and membership of a proscribed organisation, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has said.

Mr Kerr was shot when three armed, masked raiders posing as postal workers burst into a sorting office in Newry, Co Down, and escaped with more than £130,000 in cash.

The money was ready to be sent to 35 offices across south Down and south Armagh to fund the postal service's daily operations, including pension and allowance pay-outs.

After tying up several employees, the raiders ordered another to take them to the registered mail office.

There was a struggle when they got inside and Mr Kerr, 54, was shot once in the head. He died on the way to the hospital.

The three men made off in a postal van and a large search was mounted by police and the military.

Two men were arrested later in the south Armagh village of Meigh, eight miles from Newry. A third man ran off.

The then RUC chief constable Sir Hugh Annesley said: "No stone will be left unturned in bringing the investigation of this horrific crime to a successful conclusion."

The killing of Mr Kerr was widely condemned at the time by politicians on both sides of the Irish border, as well as in London.

Detectives from Legacy Investigation Branch have also charged the alleged killer of Mr Kerr with robbery as well as possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The man will appear at Newry Magistrates Court on Friday.