INVESTIGATIONS into the Loughinisland massacre have been damaged by the destruction of files contaminated by asbestos in an RUC station.
Details emerged in the damning Police Ombudsman report into the UVF gun attack which claimed the lives of six Catholic men at the Heights Bar in Loughinisland in June 1994.
Dr Michael Maguire confirmed a series of links between the gang responsible and members of the security forces in the south Down area. The gun used to kill the men, a Czech made VZ-58, was smuggled into the north with the help of British army agent and UDA intelligence officer Brian Nelson in 1987.
The ombudsman's report also reveals that the identification of asbestos contamination at Gough barracks in Armagh in 1998 “proved to be detrimental to both the continuing police investigation and the work of my own investigators”.
It is believed suspect interview notes were among those destroyed.
Details of the contamination first emerged during a 2003 inquest hearing into the British army killings of three IRA men in Coagh, Co Tyrone in 1991. It was later confirmed that a large amount of documents stored at the police station had been shredded.
Mr Maguire revealed that the RUC failed to keep an inventory of what was stored in a basement at the police station and “are unable to verify what was actually lost at Gough".
"But they do not believe that any prosecutions were dropped due to the destruction."
He said senior officers and support staff discussed cleaning each document but “it was decided that the cost was prohibitive and the idea dismissed”.
Mr Maguire said some officers were directed to enter the contaminated area and mark boxes with ‘Retain’ and ‘Destroy’ notices. Contractors offered to provide police officers with protective clothing and asked that they sign a disclaimer in case of future illness.
However, the Police Federation raised issues in respect of "the planned intervention by untrained staff and as such no such action took place”.
Loughinisland families solicitor Niall Murphy said the “systematic destruction of criminal evidence at Gough barracks contained in the report is remarkable".
“No inventory of what was either stored or subsequently destroyed is in itself an abject disgrace, which will continue to inhibit Article Two complaint investigations going forward.”
Relatives for Justice director Mark Thompson claimed the Gough documents could have been copied in a safe way and retained.
“We need to learn from this, we can’t allow any more destruction of weapons and documents and there needs to be an urgent move to secure all that.”
