Two arrested re Rosemary Nelson murder

Two men have been arrested by police investigating the murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson, police said.

The pair were detained after three searches in the Greater Belfast area, said a statement issued yesterday through Norfolk Police.

The two men, aged 41 and 43, were being questioned at Gough detention centre in Armagh city on suspicion of serious terrorist offences, it added.

Mrs Nelson was killed when a booby-trap bomb exploded under her car in March 1999.

Norfolk Deputy Chief Constable Colin Port was drafted in to head the inquiry into Mrs Nelson’s murder shortly after her death.

The move was prompted by nationalist claims that Ulster security forces set up the killing in Lurgan, Co Armagh, which was claimed by loyalist terrorists the Red Hand Defenders.

A 40-year-old mother-of-two was a leading defence solicitor and acted for nationalist causes in Lurgan and the neighbouring town of Portadown.

Groups she represented included the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition and the Robert Hamill campaign.

The investigating team has interviewed thousands of people but no one has been charged with her murder.