Families are encouraged to 'seek answers' by Claudy Ombudsman

Speaking after the publication of the report Al Hutchinson appealed for fresh information into the massacre that left nine dead.

"It would be fair to say that, yes we did not and can not answer the broader questions. What concerned some of the families was that why we could not answer the why, why this happened and we know in some sense that no-one will ever know.

"I have appealed to the public and anyone with a conscience who may have information to bring it to the police to solve the crime, if it is available.

"It is also fair to say that in a wider sense I have put a very piece of narrow information into the public domain about police actions and in a more general sense the church and the State and I think it is fair that the families would want to take that further."

Asked whether the Ombudsman would support the families in a further investigation into the events of July 31 1972 in Claudy, Mr Hutchinson said: "I am making a public appeal now for information on this horrible crime to bring it forward, even now at this late stage. By putting this into the public domain I think it will engender a public debate that is important today as in 1972 and the role of the police in protecting life versus investigating crime, if that was the reason they took in this course of action."

He continued: "Like the police arguably it's (Ombudsman involvement) never ended but for this particular piece of work, yes it has."

Mr Hutchinson met with the families and some of the victims at the Diamond Centre before speaking to the media. It was revealed during this meeting that Father Chesney, the Catholic priest suspected of being involved in the bombings that day, was still involved in IRA activity after the atrocity, although this was left out of the report.

"I haven't elaborated on that. I defer to say we have seen intelligence Father Chesney was not arrested up to his death. The key point to remember here is the course of actions chosen deprived the families, including Father Chesney, the right to the rule of law process. So when intelligence speculated he was doing certain things, that was never turned into evidence."

When asked whether this was about the priest being "directly" involved in the IRA after July 31, 1972, the Ombudsman replied: "Absolutely"