A son of IRA murder victim Jean McConville has begun giving evidence to the inquest into her death.

Gardaí were tonight winding down their latest search near the border for the remains of Columba McVeigh, one of the “disappeared” – people who vanished after being kidnapped and murdered by the IRA over a period dating back more than 30 years.

The opening stages of a new bid to find the body of another of the “disappeared” – people who vanished after being abducted and murdered by the IRA up to 30 years ago – proved unproductive in a bogland area of the Co Monaghan today.