A public inquiry in Northern Ireland into allegations that Special Branch officers colluded in covering up murders by loyalist informers has been ruled out by the Northern Secretary, Peter Hain.
Following the release of a damning report by Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan which claimed Special Branch failed to act against informers in an UVF gang who may have carried out as many as 15 murders, Mr Hain said he hoped it would help bring those responsible to the courts.
However, he rejected calls from the family of Raymond McCord Jnr - whose 1997 murder on the outskirts of Belfast sparked the Ombudsman's investigation - for an independent judicial inquiry into all allegations of collusion.
The Northern Ireland Secretary said: "I have heard calls for the setting up of a public inquiry to look into these terrible events.
"There is nothing at all to suggest that such an inquiry will uncover any new or additional evidence that has not already been unearthed by the Police Ombudsman during the painstaking investigation conducted over the past three years. "I know that this is a view shared by Nuala O'Loan.
"The serious failings that have been exposed within parts of the RUC Special Branch at the time of the murder of Raymond McCord Jnr and for a period thereafter cannot be justified and no-one should attempt to justify them," he said.
However, the Northern Ireland Secretary said it was important to remember the policing culture in the North had now changed since the implementation of the Patten reforms.
Speaking on BBC radio earlier, he said: "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," he told the BBC Radio 4 Todayprogramme.
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 said.
"The fact that some retired police officers obstructed the investigation and refused to co-operate with the Police Ombudsman is very serious in itself," Mr Hain said. "There will be consequences for those involved and it is a matter for the relevant bodies to take up."
PA