A former senior garda named in the Barron report on the murder of Seamus Ludlow has rejected its finding that he probably decided not to pursue the questioning in Northern Ireland of the four men alleged to be responsible.

The report says the decision was probably made by Deputy Commissioner Laurence Wren, but that he was likely to have discussed it with senior gardaí and with the Department of Justice. 

At the time of the killing in 1976 and until 1979, Deputy Commissioner Wren was in charge of the C3 Security & Intelligence section of the gardaí.

In an interview broadcast on RTÉ Radio, Mr Wren said he had never heard of the four suspects in the case being named before he went before Mr Justice Henry Barron for his report.

According to the report published yesterday, Mr Wren was likely not to have pursued the men because the RUC might demand reciprocal rights in the Republic.

But speaking this morning, Mr Wren said that it was a well-established policy that in political cases police did not cross the border in either direction.

In the Barron report, the former Garda Commissioner, Pat Byrne, acknowledged that garda management was 'somewhat remiss' in doing its job. He said the failure to pursue the four men lay with all senior management.

However, Mr Wren said the matter had not been his direct concern and therefore he did not consider himself to have had a part in this failure.