The Sunday World casts doubt on the Barron Report's view of the garda reason for not going north to question the suspects in the Seamus Ludlow murder case.

New evidence from a west Belfast man could spark a political row in the Republic about collusion between the RUC Special Branch and the gardai over the 1976 loyalist murder of forestry worker Seamus Ludlow (42) near Dundalk.

Following the Barron Inquiry which criticised the garda investigation of the murder Irish police admitted they didn't travel north to question prime suspects in the case.

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They said they didn't want to set a precedent which would have enabled RUC detectives to question suspects in the Republic about crimes committed in Northern Ireland.

But this week Pat Livingstone revealed that he was questioned by RUC Special Branch men in Dundalk garda station about the 1975 murder in West Belfast of Protestant workman Samuel Llewyllen (26).

He said this interview took place the year before Mr Ludlow was murdered by loyalists and that when he was convicted of the Llewyllen killing gardai travelled north to give evidence at his trial.

Mr Ludlow's family is pressing for a public inquiry into his murder and the subsequent garda investigation.

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