IRA statement on McConville case

The Provisional IRA has issued a statement affirming that Jean
McConville had been an informer at the time she was killed in 1972
following a declaration by Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan that she had
no evidence to corroborate the claims.

The IRA said: "Following a public request from the family of Jean
McConville, the IRA carried out a thorough investigation into all the
circumstances surrounding her death.

"That investigation confirmed that Jean McConville was working as an
informer for the British army. The conclusion of this investigation was
reported to Michael McConville. The IRA accepts he rejects this
conclusion.

"The IRA regrets the suffering of all the families whose loved ones
were killed and buried by the IRA."

The mother and widow was one of the 'Disappeared', her body one of a
handful unrecovered following 30 years of conflict. It was eventually
traced to a County Louth beach in 2003.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said: "I have been meeting with the
McConville family for some time. My sole interest has been to help the
family.

"Whatever about the circumstances surrounding Jean McConville's
killing, the burial of her remains was a great injustice to the family.
And the family endured significant hardship in the years which
followed.

"Sinn Fein has worked hard in recent years to resolve the issue of
those remains buried by the IRA and still not recovered and we continue
to talk to the Irish government on this matter."