Lawyer slams lack of British co-operation in bombs probe

A lawyer representing the families of three men killed in two loyalist bomb attacks in Dublin in the early 1970s has criticised the British government for failing to fully co-operate with the investigation into the bombings.

Speaking at the start of an Oireachtas committee hearing into the attacks, Cormac O'Dulachain, who represents the victims group Justice for the Forgotten, said the British government's actions raised questions about it commitments to the peace process and the overall rule of law.

"The question of the non-co-operation of the British government is a grave political issue, because it doesn't concern the actions of a government 30 years ago. It concerns the actions of this current British government. It concerns the obligations of the British government under the Good Friday Agreement and, ultimately, it does concern their current commitment to the rule of law," he said.

Today's public hearing before the Oireachtas justice committee was arranged to discuss the findings of an inquiry into the 1972 and 1973 Dublin bombings by Mr Justice Henry Barron.

Three men were killed in the bombings, which happened at Sackville Place, off O'Connell Street, within 50 days of each other.

The Ulster Defence Association is suspected of carrying out the attacks, but nobody has ever been brought to justice.