The Former Secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, has said the soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings should escape prosecution.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Hain said: ““Difficult as I know it is for victims on all sides, I see no point in endlessly searching for evidence for crimes committed so many years ago in the Troubles and which is increasingly difficult if not impossible to get given the passage of time.

“If we are going to draw a line on historic and, in all probability, fruitless investigations, that must include the pursuit of soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday incident.

“Diverting police time to investigate Bloody Sunday soldiers or crimes from the Troubles seems a waste when the priority today should surely be tracking down the tiny, but dangerous, attacks from dissident IRA groups, as well as facilitating ordinary, plain community safety.”

Peter Hain's comments come after it emerged nearly 200 IRA paramilitary suspects were given letters, effectively handing them immunity from the courts.