DPP decides against Ludlow case charges

The North's Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to bring charges against a number of loyalists arrested last year…

The North's Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to bring charges against a number of loyalists arrested last year and questioned about the unsolved murder of Mr Seamus Ludlow, killed outside Dundalk in 1976.

The August report of the Victims Commission, which was chaired by the former Tanaiste, Mr John Wilson, recommended that the case should be re-examined because "very disturbing" allegations about the investigation had been made.

Claims have been made that the killing of the 47-year-old timber worker was covered up by security agencies North and South of the Border in order to protect a loyalist double agent involved in the incident.

The Ludlow family have said for years they were "fed the lie" by the Garda that their relative was killed by the IRA because he was an informer. The family may now demand a public inquiry into his death. Last month the Government gave the go-ahead for a private investigation and said the subsequent report would remain unpublished so possible proceedings in the North would not be jeopardised.