Report on loyalist collusion presented to Govt today

A report concluding that members of the RUC and British army colluded in 74 loyalist murders during the 1970s is due to be presented to the Irish Government today.

The report, which was published yesterday, was compiled by four international legal experts commissioned by the Pat Finucane Centre to investigate 25 loyalist atrocities that led to the deaths of 76 people.

The experts say they found significant evidence of collusion in 24 of these cases, including the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings and the attack on the Miami Showband in 1976.

They also say they were told during their investigations that gardaí refused to co-operate in cases where republicans had carried out murders north of the border.

The experts are calling on both the Irish and British governments to set up independent inquiries to examine the extent of this collusion.