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Ex-RUC officer to be prosecuted for 1970s Troubles murder

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent
BBC A sign about the door of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland office in Belfast. The sign says "New Cathedral Buildings" and the address - 11 Church Street. BBC
The case was brought as a result of an investigation by the Police Ombudsman

A former police officer is to be prosecuted for murder following an investigation into killings in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

The decision comes after an investigation by the policing watchdog into 125 killings, which it said were "largely attributed" to the loyalist paramilitary organisation the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

The investigation by the Police Ombudsman, known as Operation Newham, examined allegations that officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) colluded with loyalists in murders that were carried out in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is not yet known which specific incidents are linked to the charges, which include murder and conspiracy to murder.

The murders examined by the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland centred on mid-Ulster and south Armagh.

The Police Ombudsman, Marie Anderson, said she had decided to delay publishing her report on Operation Newham, which included an examination of the activities of a loyalist group known as the Glenanne Gang.

Liam McBurney/PA Wire Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson standing outside the office of the Police Ombudsman in Belfast. She has short, blonde hair and is wearing a black dress with a pale collar and cuffes. Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson said she had decided to delay her report on Operation Newham pending the criminal case

She said that publishing the report now would be "potentially prejudicial to future criminal proceedings".

Ms Anderson said Newham was one of the "largest and most complex" inquiries the agency had ever undertaken.

Northern Ireland's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) confirmed the decision had been taken to prosecute the former RUC officer and said it could not comment further at this time due to ongoing proceedings.