A claim made to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry by a British army colonel that Mr John Hume passed on information regarding the whereabouts of an arms dump has been rubbished by the former SDLP leader.
Mr Hume, speaking in America, said the allegation was an "attempt to divert attention away from those guilty of the slaughter of innocent people in Derry on Bloody Sunday."
Col Roy Jackson, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglican Regiment, claimed that Mr Hume and a priest approached him and offered him information.
He claimed Mr Hume, then the Stormont MP for Foyle, directed him towards a place wherearms and explosives could possibly be found, saying it was "something of interest to me". Col Jackson alleged the incident happened on the evening that Mr Hume was arrested at a protest against special powers legislation.
Col Jackson said: "Yes, it was in the evening of that day and Mr Hume appeared and asked for me with the reverend gentleman ... they, together, suggested that I go and look in a certain place in the Bogside where they may be some arms, explosives or something."Mr Hume, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with Mr David Trimble for helping tobroker the Belfast Agreement, described the claim that he passed on information about arms dumps as "absolute nonsense".
"I wouldn't even have had a clue where arms dumps were. This is a cynical attempt to divert attention away from those guilty of the slaughter of innocent people in Derry on Bloody Sunday."
Col Jackson was being questioned by Mr Gerard Elias QC who is representing many of the soldiers when the allegations were made.
Ms Cathryn McGahey, for the inquiry, interrupted the questioning and Lord Saville agreed with her saying that line of questioning "may raise security issues." He said: "We have to be very careful about these matters for security and similar reasons.
Mr Hume, who is in the US on a lecture tour, said: "The allegation that I gave information to the British Army about the location of weapons in Derry in 1971 is absolute nonsense. It is completely untrue.
PA