THE barrister who helped free the Guildford Four from jail has been asked to defend Saddam Hussein against charges of mass murder.

A Derry solicitor who worked on the Bloody Sunday Tribunal is believed to be part of a new legal team hired by the family of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Three families of those killed in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings today demanded that the newly opened parliamentary inquiry into the atrocities be abandoned.

A second family is launching a legal action against the British government and police over claims that the Omagh bomb atrocity could have been prevented, it was confirmed tonight.