'Priest was protected in 1972 Claudy bombing probe'

A police investigation into a Catholic priest suspected over the 1972 Claudy bomb outrage was stopped after senior officers conspired with the British government and Catholic Church to protect him, a shock new report revealed today.

Father James Chesney was transferred to a parish in Co Donegal, outside the Northern Ireland jurisdiction, following secret talks between the then Northern Ireland secretary of state William Whitelaw and the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal William Conway.