Ahern presses British on new Bloody Sunday probe

The Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, said yesterday that he looked forward to a British decision about a new investigation into Londonderry's Bloody Sunday killings by early next month.

He also confirmed in the Dublin parliament his own plans to publish fresh information about events on the day nearly 26 years ago, when the British Army shot dead 14 civilians in the Ulster city after a civil rights march.

Mo Mowlam, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, indicated last week that the Government would decide "very soon" about what action was to be taken on Bloody Sunday, but stressed that no options had been ruled out.

The findings of an official investigation into the 1972 shootings that cleared the Army of blame have been disputed by Dublin as well as by the relatives of those who died and a number of organisations.

The Irish backed plans for another inquiry when new claims were made about the shootings earlier this year.