The PSNI has claimed the British Government and the Catholic Church were involved in cover-up to protect a priest they say is suspected of heading-up the IRA team responsible for the 1972 Claudy bombing.
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Families of the Claudy bombing victims attend a memorial service in 2000
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Just months after the July 1972 attack on the Co Derry village, which left nine people dead it has been alleged that the then Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw and Cardinal William Conway, the Catholic Primate of all-Ireland, discussed the incident and the activities of the priest.
The priest in question, who was never questioned about the murders, was later transferred across the border to Co Donegal before dying of cancer in 1980.
Papers obtained by detectives who reviewed the original police investigation have revealed that unnamed senior officers and the Northern Ireland Office were also aware of the priest's identity, according to Assistant Chief Contable Sam Kinkaid, who ordered the re-examination earlier this year. He refused to name the priest.
The police claims are bound to heighten demands on Downing Street to call for a full public inquiry into the bombing.
Questions will also be asked about the role of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the affair, why officers failed to question the priest and whether they had been under any political or Church pressure not to do so.
Mr Kinkaid, who met relatives of the dead today, said Mr Whitelaw and Cardinal Conway held a private meeting on December 5th, 1972, to discuss issues relating to the troubles.
The following day, a briefing letter was sent from a senior Northern Ireland Office official to police headquarters indicating the private matter related to the activities of the priest.
Mr Kinkaid said today: "The letter of December 6th indicates that the then Secretary of State gave the Cardinal a full account of his disgust at the priest's behaviour, and also indicates that the Cardinal knew that the priest was behaving improperly.
"The letter then states that the Cardinal mentioned the possibility of transferring the priest to Donegal. By January 1973 police reports show that the priest was not being seen in the south Derry area. Intelligence suggested he was working in Donegal.
"Police cannot find any record that the priest was ever arrested or interviewed about his alleged involvement in the Claudy bombing, or any other terrorist offence." Cardinal Conway, Mr Whitelaw, who was Northern Ireland's first Secretary of State after direct rule was introduced, and the RUC Chief Constable at the time, Sir Graham Shillington, are all dead.
Mr Kinkaid said a search of 1972 intelligence papers clearly indicated that a parish priest in the south Derry area was a member of the Provisionals and actively involved in terrorism as well as the Claudy bomb.
As part of the police review, Mr Kinkaid, who is in the running for the post of Northern Ireland Deputy Chief Constable to Mr Hugh Orde, said police had asked to see documents belonging to the Church and the British government.
They were now seeking to examine further documents in the possession of the British army, as well as the Northern Ireland Office and Catholic Church in relation to the bombing, the role of the priest and subsequent events.
PA