Hain rules out public inquiry into 'Stormontgate' scandal

Northern Secretary Peter Hain has ruled out a public inquiry into the so-called 'Stormontgate' scandal that led to the collapse of the North's power-sharing institutions more than three years ago.

The British government suspended the institutions in October 2002 amid allegations that the IRA was running a spy ring inside Stormont Buildings.

A leading Sinn Féin official, Denis Donaldson, and two civil servants were charged with possessing and collecting information likely to be of use to paramilitaries following a high-profile PSNI raid on Sinn Féin's offices at Stormont.

However, the case against them collapsed earlier this month and Mr Donaldson admitted on Friday that he had actually been a British spy since the 1980s.

Unionists and nationalists alike are now demanding a public inquiry into the scandal, but Mr Hain ruled out any such move today, claiming it would not be in the public interest.

Speaking ahead of talks with Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, Mr Hain said: "Frankly, we have had inquiries galore in Northern Ireland. They cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

"I am not going down that road when it is quite clear that it is not in the public interest to do so."