CALLS have been made to reveal the true extent of gagging orders placed on victims of child sex abuse at Kincora Boys' Home.
The Irish News has uncovered records of confidential out-of-court payments made by senior health officials.
Health chiefs are expected to be called before the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry to explain the use of such agreements, amid questions about their effect on investigations into abusers.
Sexual abuse of teenage boys at Kincora in east Belfast started in the early 1970s and continued until 1980 when three men, including RUC informer and leading Orangeman William McGrath, were arrested.
The Irish News has discovered that by 1989 the Eastern Health Trust had made three out-of-court payments to victims totalling £22,500.
At the time the trust also confirmed that other cases were pending.
Campaigner Margaret McGuckin, pictured, said the public have a right to know "how many of these confidentiality clauses were signed and if they may have perverted the course of justice".
"These agreements are no longer worth the paper they're written on. I would urge anyone who has been suffering in silence to seek help without fear," she said.
The Police Ombudsman is to be asked to investigate whether the RUC could have prevented the death of a teenager abused at Kincora.
Stephen Waring took his own life after authorities failed to act when he and another boy claimed they were victims of abuse in 1977.
Confidential reports seen by The Irish News show how the 16-year-old was being returned to Northern Ireland on a ferry after running away to England when he disappeared overboard.
Ms McGuckin said she will ask for an investigation.
"He is one of the forgotten victims, a lost boy of both Kincora and the Troubles," she said.
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