North's political parties unite in call for Claudy inquiry

Pressure is mounting on authorities in the North to launch a full inquiry into claims that the British government and the Catholic Church colluded in covering up the involvement of a priest in the 1972 Claudy bombing.

All the main political parties have now called for an inquiry into the claims.

The DUP's spokesperson on justice, Ian Paisley Jnr, has said that the claims have cast a pall over Christmas.

The police revealed last week, after persistent claims, that a priest had been an active member of the IRA in the area and had provided an alibi for one of the IRA men involved.

The police also stated that senior detectives, the Catholic Church, the Northern Ireland Office and the then Northern Secretary, Willie Whitelaw, had been aware of the claims but the priest, Fr James Chesney, had never been questioned.

Nine people died in the bombing of Claudy, including three children.