British Government rules out public inquiry into report’s findings

THE British Government has ruled out calls for a public inquiry in Northern Ireland into allegations that Special Branch officers colluded in covering up murders by loyalist informers.

Following the release of the damning report by Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan, Peter Hain said he hoped it would help bring those responsible to the courts. However, he rejected calls from the family of Raymond McCord Jnr, whose 1997 murder on the outskirts of Belfast sparked the Ombudsman’s investigation, for an independent judicial inquiry into all allegations of collusion.

Mr Hain said the report had shone a light on a dark and murky period in Northern Ireland’s history and he paid tribute to Mrs O’Loan and her team.