A secret service officer said today he was not aware an account he received about Bloody Sunday from an informer he regarded as reliable was nonsense.

SINN FÉIN’S Martin McGuinness has instructed his legal team to play no part in the cross-examination of MI5 agents due to give evidence to the Bloody Sunday tribunal this week.

An informer who alleged he was told the IRA fired the first shots on Bloody Sunday was a brave man and a very valuable agent, it was claimed today.