A Scotland Yard spokesman has denied that a new investigation has been ordered into a fire 10 years ago which destroyed files relevant to an inquiry into collusion between the British army and loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. He confirmed, however, that the original investigation was still "ongoing".
The Sunday Times yesterday alleged that Sir John Stevens, a commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, who in 1990 headed the inquiry into a possible leak of military intelligence to the Ulster Defence Association, now believed that a covert British army unit burned down his offices to destroy incriminating evidence.
The paper backed up its claim by interviewing an alleged "whistleblower" from a British military intelligence unit, who blamed the fire in Sir John's office on January 10th, 1990, in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, on an army dirty tricks campaign.
The article alleges that the man is currently being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. The British Defence Secretary, Mr Geoff Hoon, has reportedly obtained an injunction against the Sunday Times preventing it from reporting any more of his revelations.
The Scotland Yard spokesman yesterday would only confirm that a 39-year-old man was arrested in Wales in December and taken to London where he was questioned in connection with a breach of the Official Secrets Act. The man is currently on police bail and will face trial in June. The spokesman would not confirm whether he was a former military person.
Sir John Stevens is currently heading an independent investigation into the killing of the Belfast lawyer, Mr Pat Finucane, who was shot by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989.
Nobody from Sir John's inquiry team was available for comment last night.