The murder of a Roman Catholic man killed by a sectarian mob while the PSNI were nearby will be probed in a public inquiry opening today.

Virtual reality computer technology will be used to investigate allegations that police in the North failed to protect a Catholic man beaten to death in a sectarian attack, it was revealed today.

The head of British Intelligence in the North is among a string of security chiefs to have been quizzed by the inquiry into the murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson, it emerged today.