Friday’s verdicts brought to an end a trial that lasted almost two years and more than seven years after Lyra was shot dead.

In total, nine men faced a total of 52 charges, including rioting, all of which they denied. One defendant has since died.

None of the men charged with murder was accused of firing the fatal shot which killed the 29-year-old journalist.

The prosecution’s case was that they accompanied a lone gunman to a firing point on the night Lyra was killed, and encouraged or assisted him.

At the end of Friday’s hearing, the judge Mrs Justice Smyth said the outcome of the trial would bring “little, if any, comfort or relief” to the family and friends of Lyra.

She added: “Lyra McKee was murdered in an act of senseless violence.”