Stephen Farry MLA said: “This report raises serious issues regarding how the police operated and conducted investigations in the early 1970s. These conclusions no doubt reinforce the pain of those who lost loved ones in this atrocity and my thoughts are with them.
“Some very small consolation can be found in the fact that policing in Northern Ireland has changed dramatically especially in the post-Patten years.
“On the wider front, this investigation by the Police Ombudsman can only address the conduct of the police, while it is for the HET to look at the wider incident.
“This report also illustrates the genuine need for a comprehensive process to be put in place to deal with the past, and this needs to be done as quickly as possible.”
ENDS