Hain admits murders report is 'uncomfortable reading'

Published on Monday 22 January 2007 11:51

NORTHERN Ireland Secretary Peter Hain admitted the report into alleged police cover-ups of loyalist paramilitary murders would make "extremely uncomfortable reading".

However, Mr Hain said policing in Ulster had changed and the province was now a very different place.

Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan was set to publish damning findings from a three-year inquiry into alleged collusion between police and an Ulster Volunteer Force gang based in north Belfast.

"These things - murder, collusion, cover-up, obstruction of investigations - could not happen today, not least because of the accountability mechanisms that have been put in place over recent years," Mr Hain said.

He warned that the report could lead to charges being brought against those involved.

"That is a matter for the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland, it is a matter for the Chief Constable and it is a matter for his historic inquiries team," he added.

"There are all sorts of opportunities for prosecutions to follow. The fact that some retired police officers obstructed the investigation and refused to co-operate with the Police Ombudsman is very serious in itself."