Government dismisses IRA claim over Louth body

A claim by the IRA that it supplied new information leading to the discovery of what is believed to be Jean McConville's body earlier this week has been dismissed by the Government.

As relatives of the Belfast woman kidnapped and shot dead by the Provisionals await official confirmation that her remains have been found on a beach in Co Louth, the republican movement claimed it told the authorities to extend the search weeks ago.

However, a Government spokesperson said this evening the Garda statement following the discovery made clear the remains had been found by a passer-by on Shilling Hill beach.

"Discussions have been ongoing with Sinn Fein in relation to the location of victims. As the Garda statement indicated the remains found on Wednesday were foundby a passer-by. This was unrelated to any information which had been provided to the authorities.

"The remains were over half a mile away from where the previous search had ended and any information available would not have resulted in the discovery of the remains."

Earlier today a Sinn Fein source claimed: "It is our understanding that the IRA carried out an exhaustive review of all of the information available to it.

"There was an assessment that at two particular locations, the area of the search should be widened.

"One of those was the McConville site. That information was passed on a number of weeks ago."

Relatives of Mrs McConville believe remains discovered at Shilling Hill beach are those of the widow who disappeared from her home in West Belfast in 1972. She was abducted and murdered by the IRA.

A post-mortem examination disclosed that the victim had been shot in the back of the head.

Additional reporting PA