Government must order full inquiry

TODAY’S publication of the long-awaited report on collusion of both the RUC and gardaí in shocking murders is potentially explosive.

Much publicity has been given to charges levelled at the RUC for collusion with loyalist paramilitaries in a spate of atrocities, including the murders of human rights lawyers, Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson.

It is fair to suggest, however, that people in the Republic are less acquainted with allegations of collusion against a named ex-garda who has been implicated in setting up the assassination of two senior RUC officers and the murders of a Northern judge and his wife.